Bureau of Immigration to deport 9 foreigners caught carrying P441 million at Cebu airport
The nine foreigners who were arrested earlier this month at the Mactan-Cebu International Airport for carrying over P441 million in cash will be deported, according to the Bureau of Immigration.
The Philippine STAR reported that the foreigners—seven Chinese, one Indonesian, and one Kazakhstani—are considered undesirable aliens.
“Immigration laws prohibit foreigners from engaging in activities that pose risks to national security,” said BI Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado. "They will be deported and blacklisted from re-entering the Philippines."
The immigration is also working with the Philippine National Police to pull out their criminal records.
The foreign nationals, alongside two Filipinos, were caught on the evening of May 9 at the security screening area of the general aviation terminal. Some P441,922,542, as well as $168,730 and 1,000 Hong Kong dollars, were found in their seven trolley bags.
According to Philippine National Police spokesperson Jean Fajardo, they landed in Cebu at 9 a.m. that day and headed to a casino. They went back to the airport later in the day, set to ride a private plane bound for Manila.
None of them was able to provide documentation for their attempt to transport the undeclared cash, according to the Philippine News Agency.
The bringing of stacks of cash is a violation of the Commission on Elections Resolution No. 11104, which prohibits the possession, transport, or carrying of over P500,000 in cash in public places during the election season. The polls took place on May 12.
One of the Chinese nationals, a certain Wu Song, reportedly has a red notice alert from the International Criminal Police Organization for fraud. Two more of them, a certain Li Fei and Chen Hao, have previously been slapped with arrest warrants for different crimes.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines, in a statement on May 11, said the incident could be linked to "interference" during the midterm elections, raising concerns like vote-buying and money laundering.
