THE GOVERNMENT was set to deport yesterday 312 Chinese nationals who got arrested last month for telecommunication fraud, the Bureau of Immigration said in a statement.

The Chinese were part of 512 foreigners arrested in an Oct. 9 raid of a business process outsourcing office in Pasay City. The company was allegedly involved in scams.

Twenty-one 21 minors would also be deported along with the 312 Chinese nationals, the bureau said.

China had canceled the passports of the deported Chinese, which makes them undocumented aliens, it added.

Police last month said that of those arrested, 418 were Chinese, 44 were from Myanmar, 26 were Malaysians, 19 were Vietnamese, four were Taiwanese and one was Indonesian.

Initial investigations showed the foreigners were involved in offshore telecommunication investment fraud that lured foreigners to invest in different businesses.

The Chinese were to be deported via five chartered China Eastern flights to Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province and Changchun, Jilin province.

Police held some more foreigners in Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City and will move them to the bureau’s warden facility pending their deportation, the agency said.

“Let this serve as a warning to aliens planning to use the country as a base for their illegal operations,” Immigration Commissioner Jaime H. Morente said in the statement. “Expect more arrests in the coming days.” — Vann Marlo M. Villegas

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