Indians smuggled into country by syndicates

Immigration Commissioner Rufus Rodriguez revealed yesterday that a big number of undocumented Indian nationals was smuggled into the country by a human smuggling syndicate.

He pointed out that many Indian nationals arrested in the provinces proved they were illegal entrants as they could not produce any immigration papers or travel documents.

Rodriguez said that there is no let-up in the drive of the Bureau of Immigration to ferret out the illegal entrants and restricted nationals who have been making a mockery of Philippine immigration laws.

"These illegal entrants can be found working in small factories and shops operated by foreigners in the provinces. This is the reason why I have instructed our field officers to conduct a surprise visit on them to determine if the aliens have valid immigration papers," Rodriguez stressed.

Two of the six arrested Indians admitted they arrived into the country five years ago on board a foreign-registered fishing vessel and were fetched on the shore by a member of the human smuggling syndicate whom they paid P120,000 for each of them. – Rey Arquiza