BI agents arrest illegal Indians in Zamboanga

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) on Tuesday said it foiled an attempt by six Indian nationals to enter the Philippines via the southern backdoor. The Indians, who came from Tawi-Tawi, were intercepted at the Zamboanga City port on Nov. 5, Immigration officer-In-charge Ronaldo Ledesma said. Ledesma said the six will be deported for entering the country without visas and for evading inspection by immigration authorities. He identified the illegal aliens as Kuldeep Singh, Sikatar Singh, Paramjit Singh, Sogi Manvinder, Dharam Singh, and Amrik Singh. It was the second time in three weeks that immigration officials in Zamboanga City foiled such an attempt by Indian nationals. On Oct.16, three other Indian nationals trying to enter the country with fake Philippine visas were intercepted and arrested at the same port. The bureau is suspicious that organized crime is behind what it considers as a series of human trafficking incidents The six Indians earlier traveled by speedboat to Bongao, Tawi-Tawi from Semporna in Sabah, Malaysia before trying to sneak into Zamboanga, said BI intelligence chief Faizal Hussin. Based on the arrival stamps in their passports, the aliens first went to Thailand before going to Malaysia by air, the BI intelligence chief said. “They admitted during questioning that a human-trafficking syndicate based in India facilitated their trip," Hussin added. A certain Ashok Kumar of India recruited and made the travel arrangements for them, said Carlito Bautista, BI executive officer for intelligence. Kumar’s name, as the one who booked their Air Asia flight from India to Malaysia, was on the Indians’ plane tickets, he added. — VS, GMANews.TV