BI deports 75 Chinese arrested over illegal online gaming ops

The Philippines has deported 75 Chinese nationals who were arrested last year over what authorities say are illegal online gaming operations in Quezon City.

The Chinese nationals were flown to Zhengzhou, China early August 12, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) said on Thursday. They are barred from re-entering the Philippines and will be prosecuted for economic crimes in China.

The bureau said the deportation, which was arranged by the Chinese embassy, had been delayed since December 2019 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The BI Board of Commissioners issued a summary deportation against the 75 for violating Philippine immigration laws and for being undesirable aliens following their arrest last December.

The deportees were among the more than 300 Chinese nationals arrested by BI intelligence operatives and police officers at their rented offices along North EDSA in Bago Bantay, Quezon City.

They allegedly conducted unauthorized online gaming operations and worked in the country without the proper work permits. Their passports were also found to have been cancelled by the Chinese government, the BI said.

"Chinese authorities said that they were engaged in cyber crime activities and investment scams that victimized many of their compatriots in China," BI Intelligence Chief Fortunato Manahan, Jr. said in a statement. —Nicole-Anne C. Lagrimas/KBK, GMA News