© Provided by GMA News Online Bureau of Immigration default photo
Bureau of Immigration (BI) personnel have have intercepted a Somali national who attempted to go to the United Kingdom by pretending to be a Swedish citizen and using Manila as a transit point.
Abdinajah Mohamoud Aden, who arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 2 from Dubai on November 25, was about to board his connecting flight to London when he was accosted by members of the BI travel control and enforcement unit.
According to Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente, the 23-year-old was later booked on the first available flight to his port of origin.
“What is his intention? Why is he travelling to London?“ Morente asked.
He said that under the law, foreigners using spurious travel documents are subject to outright expulsion from the country.
Aden’s apprehension came after he presented to Philippine Airlines (PAL) personnel a Swedish travel document instead of his passport.
“It was only during questioning that he was compelled to produce his Somali passport which he had hidden in his luggage,” said BI port operations division chief Marc Red Mariñas.
Mariñas added that Aden was uncooperative during the interview, although he claimed that he acquired his Swedish travel document for US$3000 from a friend in Somalia, a country beset by terrorist attacks and criminal activity, so he could travel to the UK.
?“Somalis are considered high risk nationals and its citizens are required to secure entry visas from Philippine consulate abroad before coming here,” the BI said. —Virgil Lopez/RSJ, GMA News