BI nabs overstaying Kyrgyz woman linked to African drug ring
2024-Aug-01 07:00
Anara Ruslanova (BI)
MANILA – The Bureau of Immigration (BI) is set to deport a woman from Kyrgyzstan for overstaying and alleged involvement in illegal drugs.
In a news release Wednesday, Commissioner Norman Tansincgo said the BI's fugitive search unit (FSU) arrested Anara Ruslanova, 29, under a mission order inside a residential village in Makati City on July 23.
She was later committed to the BI custodial facility in Camp Bagong Diwa, Taguig City where she will remain while awaiting deportation.
Ruslanova allegedly had links to members of a West African drug syndicate who were arrested by the BI and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in a bar in Makati on June 20, 2022.
She is under investigation by the NBI regarding her knowledge of the activities of the West African syndicate, particularly its drug trafficking activities in the country.
On Nov. 21, 2023, the BI board of commissioners ordered her deportation for being an undesirable and overstaying alien and her inclusion in the immigration blacklist, which banned her from re-entering the Philippines.
Records showed that Ruslanova last arrived in the country on Oct. 4, 2018 and has not departed since then.
She had not applied for any type of visa to prolong her stay in the country legally.
Bagong Pilipinas caravan
Meanwhile, the BI will provide essential immigration services during the Bagong Pilipinas Serbisyo Fair at the Leyte Normal University in Tacloban City from Aug. 2 to 3.
The service caravan aims to provide easy access to BI services, including tourist visa extensions, exit clearances, dual citizenship applications, and other essential transactions.
"We encourage everyone to visit the booths and utilize the services offered by the Bureau of Immigration and other government agencies," Tansingco said.
The caravan is the sixth in a series of service caravans conducted by the BI this year in Zamboanga, Iloilo, Baguio, Batangas, and Cavite.
The initiative is part of the Department of Justice's services for the Bagong Pilipinas Serbisyo Fair, which brings various government services closer to the people. (PNA)