Xian Gaza’s ‘action movie’ claim of duping authorities did not actually happen

April 8, 2019 - 2:17 PM
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Xian Gaza
Xian Gaza, self-proclaimed "national scammer," claimed to have evaded airport authorities and left the country last year. (Artwork by Uela Altar-Badayos)

Xian Gaza’s latest stunt of claiming to have evaded airport authorities to sneak out of the country despite being convicted is seen as a security risk by immigration officials.

The Bureau of Immigration dismissed Gaza’s post on Facebook as “preposterous” and warned others from attempting to copy his tactics.

Gaza posted on April 7 a story of him leaving the country despite having three warrants of arrest and a five-year jail sentence for booking decoy flights.

This incident supposedly happened on September 30, 2018. He even included photos as proof.

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Dana Sandoval, immigration spokesperson, expressed her concern that other people may also wish to copy such actions for fame in the future.

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“Stunts like this using the Bureau to gain fame and stay relevant are a security risk.  He is making a mockery of our airport procedures for attention,” she said.

The BI spokesperson said that it’s impossible for a person with a criminal case such as him to escape authorities given that all derogatory records are in their system.

“The story is preposterous, similar to other claims he made in the past,” Sandoval said.

“Booking numerous flights will not help evade police. Everything is recorded in our systems, with one click you’ll know which flight a person really took,” she added.

Based on immigration procedures, a person with pending criminal cases, active warrant of arrest or hold departure order will be barred from any flight out of the country, regardless how many were booked.

If he were able to leave the country, Gaza does not have an existing HDO or warrant of arrest in the first place, Sandoval explained.

“Since he had no derogatory record when he left, he was cleared for departure.  It was quite uneventful and ordinary, really.  No Hollywood-level storyline, just regular immigration clearance,” she said.

She further clarified that the alleged conversation Gaza had with an immigration officer did not happen.

One of his posts showed he conversed with an immigration officer who stopped him from boarding the plane going to Hong Kong.

As of press time, the Department of Justice has yet to verify whether or not Gaza indeed was able to leave the country or not.

Growing list of convictions

Gaza, whose real name is Christian Albert Gaza, first made headlines in 2017 for his creepy move of asking actress Erich Gonzales for a coffee date via a billboard along EDSA.

In 2018, he was convicted for violating the Bouncing Checks Law and was supposed to serve five years jail time in Malabon city. However, he eventually posted bail and the court ruled in favor of his petition to postpone his imprisonment.

Aside from the investment scam, Gaza shared he was also involved in a multinational money laundering case worth HK $11 billion in March of that year.

Gaza said that he also took in a money-making scheme through Bitcoin cryptocurrency in 2017.

In 2013, he also reportedly established a lending firm that eventually failed.