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MANILA, Philippines — Two foreigners— a Chinese and a Colombian — were arrested last week at the Ninoy Aquino InternationalAirport (Naia) for attempting to leave the country with fake passports, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) said Wednesday.
BI Port Operations Division Chief Grifton Medina said the Bangkok-bound Chinese national, identified as Han Yujia, 36, was arrested on Jan. 14 for using a counterfeit Guatemalan passport.
Meanwhile, Colombian national Juan Arturo Carbajo, 48, was about to board a flight to Macau on Jan. 17 when he was caught for presenting a fake Argentinean passport.
Medina said both foreign nationals were detained at the Bicutan Detention Center.
After being caught, Han admitted being a Chinese citizen and surrendered the legitimate passport that he hid in his luggage, the BI said.
Carbajo, meanwhile, allegedly bought his fake Argentinean passport for $300 from a passport fraud syndicate in Lima, Peru.
BI Commissioner Jaime Morente said an international crime group could be behind the proliferation of fake travel documents.
“Our officers have apprehended quite a number of fraudulent passports in the past few months, and I fear that an international syndicate is yet again operating and producing these documents,” Morente said in a statement.
“May these recent arrests be a warning to all illegal aliens who even consider using fake documents. Our officers are highly skilled in detecting fraud, and we have the latest security equipment. Do not even try because you will be caught,” he added. /cbb