KINUMPIRMA ng Bureau of Immigration (BI) na ang apat na Chinese nationals na naaresto sa Palawan City noong Marso 19, ang nasa likod ng paglaganap ng mapanlinlang na acquired government-issued identification cards at mga dokumento.

Kinilala ni BI Intelligence Division chief Fortunato Manahan, Jr., ang apat na Chinese national na sina Wang Tao, Li Xiaoming, Guo Zhi Yang, at Lyu Zhiyang na naaresto sa Brgy. San Pedro sa Palawan City ng mga operatiba ng Naval Forces West, National Intelligence Coordinating Agency 4B, at Armed Forces of the Philippines.

Itinuturong mastermind ng operasyon si Lyu na may alyas na “Ken Garcia Lee”, at binansagang mafia leader sa Palawan.

Noong isinagawa ang operasyon, maraming Philippines-issued ID ang natagpuan at nakumpiska kabilang dito ang drivers’ licenses, postal IDs, at birth certificates.

“The arresting team of the operation have been working on the case for several months and have kept close coordination with intelligence forces and law enforcement agents to ensure the smooth arrest of the subjects,” ayon kay Manahan.

“These foreign nationals use Philippine documents to avoid inspection, buy property, or even interfere in politics,” ayon kay BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco.

“The arrest of Lyu and his gang will definitely hurt the operations of these entities, and hopefully put a stop to the proliferation of fraudulently-acquired documents,” dagdag pa nito.

(JOCELYN DOMENDEN)