The Philippines is set to deport nine foreigners, including seven Chinese nationals, an Indonesian, and a Kazakh, after they were caught attempting to transport more than P400 million in undeclared cash at Mactan-Cebu International Airport. The incident occurred just three days before the May 12 midterm elections.
Bureau of Immigration (BI) spokesperson Dana Sandoval described the incident as “brazen,” suggesting that the suspects may have engaged in similar activities before. “Tingin natin ginagawa na nila ito dati pa at election season nung ginagawa nila yan. Very brazen yung ginawa nila,” she said in an interview with TeleRadyo Serbisyo.
The group faces criminal charges for violating the law on the transport and possession of large sums of money during the election period. Authorities initially arrested 11 individuals at the airport on May 9 after they attempted to bypass x-ray screening while boarding a private plane to Manila.
Philippine National Police (PNP) spokesperson PBGen. Jean Fajardo confirmed that the PNP Aviation Security Group discovered P441,922,542, $168,730, and 1,000 Hong Kong dollars in cash concealed in the suspects’ luggage.
One of the suspects claimed that the cash originated from a large casino in Cebu and belonged to White Horse, a known junket operator. Authorities noted that White Horse has previously been linked to a high-profile kidnap-slay case involving businessman Anson Que.
Further investigations revealed that two of the arrested foreigners were carrying fake driver’s licenses, while another had an outstanding arrest warrant. One of the suspects was also listed under an Interpol red notice for fraud.
The suspects remain in the custody of the authorities for their criminal cases. If they manage to post bail, the BI has the authority to immediately detain them for deportation. “Kung sila are able to post bail sa kaso nila, pwede namin damputin yan kasi hindi sila pwedeng pakalat-kalat sa kalsada kasi considered na silang undesirable alien,” Sandoval emphasized.
