KOTA KINABALU: Some 496 Filipino immigrants have been deported back to their country by the State Immigration Department.
Sabah Immigration Director, Datuk Dr Muhamad Sade Mohamad Amin said the deportation is part of the Immigration’s ongoing program to send back illegal immigrants back to their country of origin.
Muhamad Sade said Friday’s deportation is the third of its series after two similar programs which brings the total number of Filipinos deported by the department to 674.
“The detainees were detained at the Kota Kinabalu Depot Immigration centre and in Papar since 2020 and were deported back to their country from the Sandakan port back to Zambonga port in the Philippines,” he said in a statement on Saturday.
Muhamad Sade added that the Immigration Department has since deported 1,725 illegal immigrants back to their country of origin since the program started early this year.