Bureau of Immigration agents arrested last year a total of 135 foreigners, including one Japanese, wanted for crimes they committed in their homelands.

In a statement on Friday , Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente said the number of foreign fugitives caught last year was more than double the 61 wanted alien criminals that the bureau’s operatives arrested in 2015.

Morente said nearly all of the arrested fugitives were deported to their countries of origin where they are serving their sentences or are being tried for various offenses.

“They were also placed in our blacklist to prevent them from re-entering the country,” Morente said, adding that the aliens’ presence here posed a risk to public safety.

Morente promised the BI will continue to pursue its campaign against foreign fugitives, saying “the Philippines should not be used as a sanctuary for foreign criminals who want to evade prosecution and punishment for crimes they committed in their homeland.”

Statistics from the the bureau’s fugitive search (FSU), said 80 South Koreans topped the list of the captured fugitives, followed by 25 Chinese and 19 Americans.

Also in the list are three Taiwanese, two Canadians, an Australian, a Japanese, a German, a Pakistani, a Bangladeshi, and a Kazakhstani.

FSU records showed 60 of the captured aliens were wanted for cybercrime fraud, 49 for economic crimes, and 12 for sex offenses.

Three were charged with murder while others were involved either in smuggling, human trafficking, aggravated assault, drug pushing, and desertion.

BI intelligence officer Bobby Raquepo, FSU acting chief, said 86 of the aliens were subjects of mission orders issued by Morente; 37 were issued deportation warrants by the bureau’s board of commissioners; seven were intercepted at the airports; and five surrendered. DMS