Iranian passenger robbed while on flight to Manila

MANILA, Philippines - An Iranian was robbed while on a flight to Manila from Shanghai on Tuesday, airport officials said yesterday.

Immigration officials at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) terminal 2 said they recovered the wallet of Hamed Bolarjon, containing 11,000 RMB (yuan) or an equivalent of more than P60,000, from two transiting Chinese nationals upon arrival at the airport.

Immigration officer Ma. Luisa Canlas said Bolarjon, who is married to a Filipina and a chef in a five-star hotel in Makati, told her after presenting his passport for stamping that he was robbed while on board Philippine Airlines PR 339 flight from Shanghai to Manila.

Bolarjon said he placed his belt bag with his wallet at the overhead compartment and took a nap seated beside two Chinese passengers.

Upon arrival at the airport, Bolarjon noticed that his wallet was missing from the belt bag and reported the loss to immigration officials.

Bolarjon was asked if he may have lost his wallet in Shanghai but he insisted that he double-checked it before taking a nap.

Fortunately, a member of Immigration’s Travel Control and Enforcement Unit (TCEU) was alerted by Nigerian passengers who said they had seen some Chinese tourists counting money at the transit lounge.

The Nigerians were prevented by the TCEU officer from entering the country for lack of proper documents and were waiting for deportation at the transit lounge arrival area.

But the official was told by the Nigerians about two Chinese seated near them counting money.

Immigration officials immediately sought assistance from policemen who approached the two Chinese and seized from them the wallet of Bolarjon.

Police said they cannot arrest the two Chinese since they are only transit passengers with a connecting flight to Indonesia.

Bolarjon on the other hand said that he would pursue his complaint before the immigration bureau to “blacklist” the two Chinese. He also said he would donate the money to the poor since he had considered it “lost.”