Thirty-five Indonesians, who were arrested for illegal online gaming and scamming operation in Lapu-Lapu City, have been deported, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) said on Thursday, Oct. 24.

“Anyone caught engaging in illegal work without proper documentation will face the full force of the law. Our operations wil be relentless,” declared BI Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado in a statement. 

Viado said the 35 Indonesians, composed of nine females and 26 males, took outbound flights at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) last Tuesday, Oct. 22. Their names were not disclosed.

Those deported were also placed in the BI’s blacklist and barred from returning to the Philippines, he said.

The Indonesians, who are mostly in their 20s and 30s, were among those rounded up during a government raid of an illegal online gambling and scamming operation in a resort in Barangay (village) Agus in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu last Aug. 31.

“The arrest and subsequent deportation of these foreign nationals send a strong message that illegal online gambling operations will not be tolerated,” Viado said. 

“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 stressed.