BI: 3 Africans busted at Naia for bogus passports

MANILA, Philippines – Three Africans were nabbed by immigration authorities for presenting forged passports last week, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) said on Tuesday.

BI Port Operations Division Chief Grifton Medina said that the three Africans were intercepted upon arrival at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) last April 10.

The foreign nationals, whose names were not disclosed, arrived from Istanbul, Turkey via a Turkish Airlines flight.

According to Medina, the immigration officers who processed the foreigners noticed a number of ‘red flags’ in their passports.

Hence, they were immediately referred for secondary inspection to the members of the BI’s Travel Control and Enforcement Unit (TCEU).

“There were alterations in the passport itself, and the biographical page was entirely bogus,” Medina said in a statement.

The foreigners used passports supposedly issued by the government of Ghana.

“The TCEU members immediately noticed irregularities in their passports and this was confirmed by our forensic document examiners,” he added.

BI-TCEU chief Erwin Ortañez, meanwhile said, that the Africans attempted to use the fake Ghana passports because citizens of the said country are not required to obtain entry visas when visiting the Philippines.

“These men are probably planning to conduct some sort of illegal operations in the country,” he said.

The three Africans are now detained at the BI detention facility in Camp Bagong Diwa, Taguig City and will be charged with violation of the Philippine immigration act. /gsg