The Bureau of Immigration (BI) said it relieved the head and 35 other personnel of its Immigration detention facility after discovering that some detained foreign nationals were getting access to prohibited items, including mobile devices.
“[These] 36 [officers] were relieved, including the head, following the raid the other day,” Immigration spokesperson Dana Sandoval said.
The raid happened during the January 31 Oplan Greyhound carried out by 49 operatives from the bureau’s Intelligence Division assisted by 84 policemen and SWAT personnel from the National Capital Region Police Office.
The authorities confiscated sharp objects, construction tools, cigarettes, mobile phones, laptops, modems, and undeclared cash. Six iPhones belonging to one of the four Japanese citizens subject to deportation requests from the Japanese government were also seized.
Sandoval added that the BI assigned a new warden and 35 new personnel who assumed their new posts Friday. Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco went to visit the Immigration Detention Facility on the same day for an inspection.
— Ronald Espartinez