By Brian Jules Campued
The Bureau of Immigration (BI) on Sunday announced it arrested a total of 128 foreign fugitives hiding in the Philippines in 2023.
The BI’s Fugitive Search Unit (FSU) said the alien fugitives were apprehended in various operations conducted nationwide particularly in areas where said foreigners were hiding during their illegal stay in the country.
Most of the fugitives caught were South Koreans with 39. The other nationalities were 25 Chinese, 15 Vietnamese, 12 Taiwanese, 11 Americans, and eight Japanese.
Offenses committed include “involvement in economic crimes, investment scams, illegal gambling, money laundering, telecommunications fraud, robbery, and smuggling,” according to a statement from the Immigration bureau.
“Nearly all of the captured fugitives were already deported and are already serving time in prison in their respective countries after being convicted of the crimes they allegedly committed,” said the FSU.
The BI also announced that all nabbed foreign criminals have since been placed in the immigration blacklist of undesirable aliens, perpetually barring them from re-entering the country.
Among its notable arrests, the agency said, happened in March involving Manpreet Singh and his cohorts. They were tagged as members of an extremist group called the Khalistan Tiger Force, which reportedly promoted “acts of terrorism” and targeted killings in India.
The BI also cited the arrest of Risa Yamada, Fujita Kairi, and Sato Shohei in January, March, and April respectively, for their affiliation with the infamous “Luffy” syndicate which is known for the string of robberies across Japan.
Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco lauded its operatives for their achievements, saying the operations against the fugitives send a signal that the country is not a refuge for foreign criminals evading arrest and prosecution for crimes they committed in their respective countries.
“Our country is off limits to these foreign fugitives. They are not welcome here and there will be no let up in our campaign to hunt and deport them so they could be tried for the criminal cases that were filed against them,” the BI chief added. – avds
