BI blocks entry of suspected Aussie hacker at Naia’s T3

THE Bureau of Immigration reported on Tuesday that it was able to prevent the entry to the country of a suspected Australian hacker.

BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco said the attempt of Risteski Borche, 40, to enter the Philippines aboard a Cebu Pacific flight from Sydney at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) Terminal 3 last December 21 was reported to him by officials of BI’S Border Control and Enforcement Unit (BCIU).

Borche, reportedly an Australian of Macedonian descent, is subject of an Interpol alert for being a wanted person in the Republic of Macedonia after being charged with unauthorized entry into a computer system.

The BI said Borche is facing charges of violation of Article 251 of the criminal code of the Republic of Macedonia.

He is facing four years imprisonment in the said country if found guilty of the charges.

The suspect was recommended to be included in the BI’S blacklist after being denied entry.

Meanwhile, immigration agents also arrested a South Korean fugitive wanted by authorities in Seoul for engaging in telecommunications fraud.

The suspect was identified as Byun Jonghyun, 40 years old.

BI-FSU acting chief Rendell Ryan Sy said Byun is also the subject of an Interpol red notice issued in April 2020.

The said notice stemmed from an arrest warrant issued against the Korean by the Seoul central district court where he was charged with violating his country’s telecommunications business act.

Byun, according to Korean authorities, is a member of an organized crime syndicate based in Manila that defrauds their compatriots back home by engaging in voice phishing operations.

It is estimated that the syndicate’s earnings from the illegal activity already amounted to more than 674 million won or roughly half a million dollars.

The Korean fugitive will be deported immediately following the issuance of an order for his summary deportation by the BI board of commissioners last September.

Byun has also been placed in the BI’S blacklist to prevent him from going back to the country.