Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, September 13) — A total of 277 Chinese nationals wanted for fraud in their home country were arrested in a "massive raid" of a corporate center in Pasig City, the Bureau of Immigration said Friday.

Authorities conducted a raid in Ortigas Center on Wednesday following a report from the Chinese Embassy on the presence of four fugitives in the area. They victimized more than a thousand individuals in an investment scam worth 100 million RMB or more than ₱730 million, Police Attaché Chen Chao of the Chinese Embassy in the Philippines said.

The operation resulted in the "incidental arrest" of 273 other Chinese nationals "who were caught in the act of conducting illegal online operations," the BI said. They are all wanted for fraud for involvement in a large-scale investment scam in China.

The Immigration's Fugitive Search Unit noted that the passports of all the 277 Chinese fugitives had already been canceled, making their stay in the country illegal.

The illegal foreign workers are detained at the Immigration's Warden Facility in Taguig City while deportation proceedings are ongoing.

Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente said the government will continue to hunt foreign criminals and have them deported and blacklisted.

"Their presence in the country is a risk to public security," Morente said. "These fugitives will be hunted, deported, and will be blacklisted, effectively banning them from re-entering the country."

READ: Gov't officials see influx of Chinese workers as security threat

More than three million Chinese nationals have entered the country since President Rodrigo Duterte assumed office in 2016 and fostered friendly ties with Beijing. Officials have flagged the influx of Chinese workers, noting that thousands of them may be working in the country illegally or without proper documentation, particularly in the Philippine offshore gaming operators or POGO industry. The Chinese Embassy earlier called on the Philippine government to investigate and put a stop to the illegal employment of Chinese nationals in the country.

READ: Malacañang assures illegal Chinese workers of due process