「日刊まにら新聞」ウェブ

Three Japanese who were linked to the ''Luffy'' syndicate and the members of an extremist group were among the 128 foreign fugitives arrested by the Bureau of Immigration (BI) last year.

In a report to Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco, the BI’s fugitive search unit (FSU) said the alien fugitives were captured in various operations that the unit’s operatives conducted in different places nationwide where the said foreigners were hiding or have stayed since they arrived in the country.

Arrested were Risa Yamada, Fujita Kairi, and Sato Shohei who were located in January, March, and April for their affiliation with the infamous ‘Luffy’ robbery syndicate.

'Luffy ' suspects Toshiya Fujita and Kiyoto Imamura were deported to Japan on February 7 on request from the Japanese government after their cases in the Philippines were dismissed. Two other suspects, Yuki Watanabe and Tomonobu Saito, were deported on February 8.

All in all, the BI deported eight Japanese last year.

A notable arrest was that of Manpreet Singh and his cohorts last March, who were tagged as members of an extremist group known as the Khalistan Tiger Force in India.

The FSU also reported that nearly all of the captured fugitives were deported and are already serving time in prison in their respective countries after being convicted of the crimes they allegedly committed

Tansingco said this sends a signal that the Philippines is not a refuge or sanctuary for foreign criminals who want to evade arrest and prosecution for crimes they committed in their country.

“Our country is off limits to these foreign fugitives. They are not welcome here and there will be no letup 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 declared.

The FSU also reported that 39 South Koreans account for the bulk of the arrested fugitives, followed by 25 Chinese nationals, 15 Vietnamese, 12 Taiwanese and 11 Americans.

Offenses committed by the others include involvement in economic crimes, investment scams, illegal gambling, money laundering, telecommunications fraud, robbery, and smuggling. DMS