The Bureau of Immigration (BI) has started deportation proceedings against 29 foreign nationals discovered running an illicit online gambling operation.

BI Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado revealed this yesterday a day after the foreign workers were arrested in a raid of a private resort in Silang, Cavite.

The raid was led by members of the BI Anti-Terrorist Group and BI Fugitive Search Unit in collaboration with the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group and the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission.

Viado said he had directed BI prosecutors to conduct a preliminary investigation of the aliens who include 23 Chinese and six Myanmar nationals.

“The BI will then charge the aliens with immigration violations and issue orders for their deportation and inclusion in our blacklist, effectively prohibiting them from reentering the country,” he said.

Viado said the arresting team came upon the illegal POGO workers while conducting an operation to apprehend a Chinese fugitive reported to be hiding at the resort, but the latter was not there when the raid took place.

“After the BI received an intelligence report that the subject Chinese fugitive was at the resort, I issued a mission order for the operation,” he said.

The foreigners were reportedly apprehended while they were on PCs at their workstations conducting illegal online games.

Viado said a charge of harboring illegal aliens is being mulled against the operator of the resort.

Section 46 of the Philippine Immigration Act of 1940 prohibits the harboring of illegal aliens with violators facing up to 10 years in prison.