Eight Japanese nationals who are linked to the “Luffy” syndicate were deported by the Bureau of Immigration (BI) on Tuesday.

BI Spokesperson Dana Sandoval said the suspects were identified as Harada Shota,29; Nakamura Naoto, 27; Endo Seijiro,35; Kobayashi Mikio, 33; Hashimoto Kodai,29; Otani Takuya,28; Mayuzumi Kaito,25; and Sakiyama Kenta, 29.

The eight Japanese fugitives are said to be involved in a series of robbery cases in Japan despite being detained at the BI’s detention facility.

The suspects were arrested in February 2020 at a resort in Sitio Lilian, Famy Laguna when the BI conducted a joint operation with the National Bureau of Investigation.

They were returned to their home country on Japan Airlines flight JL746 and were accompanied by 20 Japanese police personnel.

Last year, the BI deported Yuki Watanabe, who is said to be the leader of the robbery group, along with three other members. Jaspearl Tan/DMS