The Bureau of Immigration (BI) on Tuesday deported a total of 35 Indonesians who were previously arrested for working in an illegal online gaming hub in Cebu.

BI Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado reported that the deportees, composed of nine females and 26 males, boarded outbound flights at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 on October 22.

The 35 Indonesians have been included in the BI’s blacklist as a result of their deportation.

The individuals were mostly in their 20s and 30s and were part of the massive raid conducted last August 31 against illegal online gambling and scamming operations in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu.

The raid, which led to the arrest of more than 100 foreign nationals, including the Indonesians, was carried out by the BI in coordination with the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC), the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), the Philippine Center on Transnational Crime (PCTC), and the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT).

During the raid, authorities discovered hundreds of foreign nationals engaged in illegal online gaming operations within a resort in Barangay Agus.

Makeshift workstations were found inside the resort premises, which had been covertly used for these illegal activities.

"The arrest and subsequent deportation of these foreign nationals send a strong message that illegal online gambling operations will not be tolerated," said Viado. "We remain committed to upholding the President’s directive to ban such activities, and we will continue to work closely with other government agencies to ensure that those involved in illegal operations are brought to justice."

He also warned other foreigners involved in similar activities. "Anyone caught engaging in illegal work without proper documentation will face the full force of the law,” said Viado. “Our operations will be relentless,” he warned. BI News