A Japanese "leader" of an alleged "small scale" telecommunications fraud syndicate was arrested in Makati on Friday night, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) said Sunday.

The suspect, identified as Eiji Shigematsu, 48 was arrested along Ayala Avenue, Bel Air Village for theft in Violation of Article 235 of the Japanese Penal Code.

In a phone interview with The Daily Manila Shimbun, BI Fugitive Search Unit (FSU) chief Rendel Sy said that Shigematsu was arrested due to a warrant by the Kajiki summary court in Japan in July 2023, although their voice phishing operation started in the Philippines back in 2018.

Shigematsu "operated a voice phishing scheme in the Philippines in 2018, impersonating police officers to steal ATM cards and withdraw 1,191,000 yen in Japan", according to a BI spot report.

Sy stated that the suspect is not involved with 'Luffy' gang but shared similar schemes with it but on a smaller scale.

"He said that he started his voice phishing operation but it was small with around five cohorts that time", Sy said.

"His operation is based in the Philippines and then ... he stopped his operations after the pandemic. It just so happens that there was an arrested member of his in Japan that probably told authorities that he was their leader which led to the issuance of a warrant against him", Sy added.

Immigration Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado said that Shigematsu will be deported "and he will be blacklisted and banned from reentering the country".

Shigematsu was brought to the BI warden facility in Camp Bagong Diwa, Taguig City for deportation proceedings. Marie Manalili/DM