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Friday, March 29, 2024

Kiribati national, 2 Senegalese intercepted

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Immigration authorities have intercepted three foreigners who tried to enter the country with fraudulent travel documents, according to BI Commissioner Jaime Morente.

The three aliens—a Kiribati citizen and two Senegalese nationals—were intercepted in separate occasions at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, Morente said Tuesday.

 “All of them were caught in possession of bogus passports,” Port Operations Division Chief Grifton Medina said, adding the passengers were immediately excluded and booked on the first available flights back to their ports of origin.

As a result of the incident, Medina said the BI again thwarted attempts by international syndicates to smuggle illegal aliens with bogus travel documents into the country.

“We have also placed them in our blacklist to prevent them from returning to the Philippines,” he said.

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The Kiribati national, identified as Eliezear Mercy Obiora, was intercepted at the NAIA Terminal 1 while Senegalese nationals Jonas Mendy and George Mendy were apprehended at the NAIA Terminal 3.

 BI Spokesperson Dana Krizia Sandoval said the biographical pages of the aliens’ passports were found to be altered upon examination by the BI’s forensic document laboratory.

 She disclosed that aside from using fake passports, the passengers were not able to explain their purpose in coming to the Philippines when interviewed by officers from the BI Travel Control and Enforcement Unit. 

  “They did not have any clear idea on what to do and where to go once they got into the Philippines, and they were also deemed to be likely to become a public charge,” Sandoval said. 

“We suspect that this is an attempt to use the country as a jump-off point to other first world countries,” she said.

 “Our officers are highly trained to detect incidents of fraud.  Add that to our technologies—I believe illegal aliens with fake documents should think twice before trying to come here,” she added.

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