The Bureau of Immigration (BI) announced on Sunday the arrest of two wanted fugitives, who attempted to depart the country, at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).

BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco identified the two foreign fugitives as Zhao Yaxin, a 33-year-old Chinese national, and Badr Ettachi, a 32-year-old Moroccan national, who were intercepted separately over the weekend by BI Border Control and Intelligence Unit (BI-BCIU) operatives at the NAIA.

According to the BCIU, Zhao was arrested on 27 January at NAIA Terminal 3 before he could board his flight to Guangzhou, China, while Ettachi was arrested on the following day as he attempted to depart the country for Singapore.

“They will undergo deportation proceedings as a consequence of their status as fugitives from justice; and afterward, we will expel and ban them perpetually from re-entering the Philippines for being undesirable aliens,” Tansingco said.

The BI chief disclosed that Zhao is a wanted criminal in China for his involvement in economic crimes, while Ettachi is the subject of an Interpol notice stemming from an embezzlement case that was filed against him in the UAE.

Tansingco added that it was learned by the bureau that Zhao is one of 34 Chinese nationals whose deportation was sought by the Chinese government due to their involvement in illegal online gaming operations. A warrant of detention was reportedly issued against Zhao and his cohorts by the Chanqing Hechuan District Public Security Bureau in China.

As for Ettachi, the BI Interpol Division said that the Moroccan was accused of pocketing US$60,000 intended for the salaries of seafarers and workers of a shipping vessel that was entrusted to him for delivery by a friend of the owner of the firm responsible for disbursing the said payroll money.

Ettachi allegedly absconded with the money and fled the UAE to evade prosecution for the crime he supposedly committed in 2017.

Now both fugitives were transferred to the BI Warden Facility in Camp Bagong Diwa, Taguig City, pending their deportation proceedings.