The Bureau of Immigration (BI) arrested five Chinese nationals who were on the blacklist as POGO workers at the Zamboanga International Airport on March 22.
In a joint operation of BI Intelligence Division and Fugitive Search Unit, Ying Guanzhen was captured (31), Yang Jinlong (29), Liu Xin (28), Shen Kan (36), and Luo Honglin (27).
According to BI, two of them are wanted in China, while the three have previous connections to Lucky South 99, a Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) that was raided for illegal activities.
The BI received information that the group attempted to escape using a backdoor exit route from Tawi-Tawi to Sabah, Malaysia, aboard a boat accompanied by a transporter to evade authorities.
But they were intercepted by officials of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) after the engine of their boat malfunctioned near Languyan Island, Tawi-Tawi.
