Pasay city: The Bureau of Immigration (BI) on Monday reported the recent arrest of a Chinese national allegedly involved in large-scale online scam activities in Pasay City. In a statement, the BI said Xiang Longyiyu, also known as Sam Lee, 33, a Chinese national, who is suspected of involvement in online fraud and phishing activities targeting both local and foreign victims, was arrested during a joint operation pursuant to a mission order on Nov. 4, along D. Jorge Street, Pasay City.
According to Philippines News Agency, the operation stemmed from a formal request from the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC), seeking assistance in tracking the suspect’s activities following intelligence reports linking him to online financial scams. Reports indicated that Xiang was operating under a work-from-home setup and was previously associated with a scam hub dismantled earlier this year in Makati City. He was reportedly continuing fraudulent activities using multiple laptop computers.
Initial verification from BI records revealed that Xiang arrived in the Philippines in 2019 as a temporary visitor. His last visa extension expired in 2022, making him an overstaying alien. Further checks showed that he is already under a Blacklist Order issued in 2023 for overstaying. The arrested individual has been turned over to the BI’s warden facility where he shall remain pending deportation proceedings. The joint operation was also conducted with the National Bureau of Investigation-Operative Technical Cyber Division (NBI-OTCD).
Meanwhile, the BI denied entry to four foreign nationals convicted of sex crimes abroad on different occasions in Pasay City, Pampanga, and Cebu. From Oct. 26 to Nov. 4, 2025, BI officers stationed at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), Clark International Airport (CIA), and Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA) implemented exclusion orders against four registered sex offenders.
Among those denied entry was Julian Johnson, 56, an American national who arrived at CIA on Oct. 26 aboard a Starlux Airlines flight from Taipei City. Records show that he was convicted in 1996 in the United States for lewd or lascivious acts with a child under 14 years old and was sentenced to one year of confinement and five years of probation. Also excluded was Stefan Andrew Alletson, 34, a New Zealander who arrived at NAIA Terminal 3 on the same day onboard a Cathay Pacific flight from Hong Kong. Information from the Philippine Center on Transnational Crime (PCTC) revealed that Alletson was previously convicted of a sex crime in New Zealand.
Online news reports state that he is a former football coach who was convicted in New Zealand for sending sexually explicit photographs to 14-year-old boys. He pleaded guilty to multiple charges related to the possession and distribution of objectionable material. On Oct. 30, Canadian national Leo Paul Houle, 77, was denied entry at MCIA after records showed that he was convicted in 2018 of child pornography-related offenses and conspiracy to commit a sexual offense against a person under 18 years of age. The most recent interception was recorded on Nov. 4 at NAIA Terminal 1, where BI officers excluded Charles White, 69, a U.S. citizen convicted in 2007 for committing a criminal sexual act in the third degree involving a 15-year-old victim. All four offenders were immediately placed on the BI’s blacklist, preventing them from entering the country permanently.
