PRC NATIONALS CAUGHT IN BOARDING CARD SWAP

UNCLAS TAIPEI 000195 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR CA/FPP AND EAP/TC POSTS FOR FRAUD PREVENTION MANAGERS HONG KONG AND TOKYO PLEASE PASS TO DHS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KFRD CVIS CPAS CMGT ASEC TW SUBJECT: PRC NATIONALS CAUGHT IN BOARDING CARD SWAP ¶1. Four Chinese (PRC) nationals were intercepted at Narita International Airport on Dec. 25, 2005 trying to board flight UA890 to Los Angeles using U.S. passports with counterfeit biographic pages and swapped boarding passes. The Chinese were from Fujian Province but in transit from Dalian International Airport in Liaoning, PRC. They were stopped at the boarding gate by United Airlines staff while attempting to pass for four Taiwanese passengers on a flight that originated in Taipei, Taiwan and was destined for Los Angeles, California. The PRC nationals received the boarding passes at Narita airport from the Taiwanese passengers who flew the first leg of the trip from Taipei to Tokyo. After giving their boarding passes to the PRC nationals, the Taiwanese returned to Taipei the next day. ¶2. The four Taiwanese bought their plane tickets after obtaining U.S. visas at the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT). Two of them applied for visas separately, approximately 10 days before they departed for Japan while the other two received their visas several months in advance. A review of their original visa applications shows that this group included both men and women, ages 30 to 45. All four stated they were going to Los Angeles for tourism and staying at different local hotels. None of the applications contained any information that would have differentiated them from legitimate visa applicants; in fact, two had prior U.S. visas and apparent prior legitimate travel to the U.S. Two of the applicants appear to be neighbors, and a clear indication of a connection between the applicants is the fact that the applications were all prepared by the same travel agency. ¶3. AIT has cancelled the four visas of the Taiwanese and entered them as alien smugglers (6E) in the CLASS lookout system. The PRC nationals, after being questioned by Japanese immigration officials, presented their Chinese passports. Using the biodata from those passports, they have also been entered into the CLASS system as having made false claims to U.S. citizenship (P6C2). FPU has also alerted all interviewing officers about this case so they can pay particular attention to any applications prepared by the same travel agency. FPU will also initiate an investigation into this travel agency to determine whether there is a larger pattern of involvement with alien smuggling. AIT has provided the information on the visa applicants to Taiwan's Investigation Bureau of the Ministry of Justice, the local equivalent of the FBI and Taiwan authorities are in the process of contacting the four Taiwanese applicants and the travel agency involved. PAAL