IMMIGRATION officers at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) have apprehended three Georgians in possession of fake Canadian visas in their passports.
BI Port Operations chief Grifton Medina said the Georgians were apprehended upon their arrival at the NAIA Terminal 1, aboard an Etihad flight from Abu Dhabi last Nov. 11.
Medina said investigation revealed that the illegal aliens used Manila as transit point on their way to their final destination, Canada.
“The Georgians initially presented themselves as humanitarian workers on a business vacation sponsored by an international non-government organization. Our officers found out that these aliens planned to stay in Manila for two days, then fly to Qatar and Azerbaijan, before sneaking into Canada,” said Medina.
He added that the incident was another foiled attempt of syndicates to use the Philippines as a jump-off point to enter Canada.
The Georgians have valid Philippine entry visas, but when subjected to secondary inspection the Canadian visas pasted on their passports were found to be spurious.
Examiners from the BI’s forensic laboratory certified that the said Canadian visas are counterfeit, a finding which was later corroborated by Canadian embassy officials who described the visas as “non-existent in their system”.
The Georgians were subsequently brought to the BI detention center in Taguig City and will be charged for violating of the Philippine Immigration Act.
BI Commissioner Jaime Morente commended the efforts of the immigration officers involved in the incident, saying “their role is very important in protecting our country from this threat.”
