It cost Bermuda $179,000 to deport six illegal immigrants back to China and Singapore, Senator Reginald Burrows said yesterday.

The five Chinese nationals and one Singaporean were detained trying to illegally enter the United States through Bermuda in January and July, 2003. The six entered Bermuda using fake Japanese passports and ?had to be deported back to China and Singapore respectively at a cost of $179,000?, Sen Burrows told the upper House.

Chief Immigration Officer, Martin Brewer told yesterdaythat, for security reasons, British Airways would allow only one deportee at a time to be flown out of Bermuda. All six were initially flown to the UK before being repatriated to their home countries.

Dr. Brewer also said each immigrant had to be accompanied by two Bermudian senior Immigration officers, adding to costs which eventually averaged out at $29,833 per deportee.

Speaking to Senators yesterday, Sen Burrows added that ?both the cost and the level of risk were unacceptable.?

Dr. Brewer later told : ?The risk is for them to get into the States. If we do not stop them at our borders, then the US and Canada will put stricter controls in place in Bermuda.?

?These people try to smuggle themselves into the US or Canada. They pay thousands of dollars for these fake passports and try to use Bermuda as a stepping stone.?

Once in North America he said, they quickly go underground and disappear.

Sen Burrows said that following the July incident, the Department of Immigration ?conducted a comprehensive review of its entry procedures? and reported that the number of people entering Bermuda with false passports had significantly decreased as a result.

Since the change in procedure, ten visitors with fraudulent passports had been stopped and sent back on the same planes they arrived on, at no cost to the taxpayer, said Sen Burrows.

When questioned as to the nature of the changes, Dr. Brewer refused to specify, saying that once that information became public, it could be used by illegal immigrants to enter Bermuda.

See Pages 7 and 8 for more Senate coverage