By Velle White

Two Japanese nationals, including the leader of a theft and scam syndicate in Japan, were arrested in two separate operations in Pasay and Pampanga on Tuesday night and Wednesday night respectively.

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) identified the suspect arrested in Angeles, Pampanga on Wednesday evening as Ryuji Yoshioka, the alleged leader of JP Dragon Syndicate, a high-profile and notorious transnational crime syndicate operating in Asia.

Yoshioka’s arrest was done pursuant to a summary deportation order issued against him in 2023.

Officials from Japanese authorities alleged Yoshioka as the leader of the syndicate responsible for orchestrating large-scale theft and telecom fraud schemes.

“The arrest of Yoshioka means that we have effectively dismantled their base here in the Philippines,” the Bureau of Immigration (BI) said in a press statement.

Information from the BI allege Yoshioka as the godfather of the group with ‘contacts that provide protection to the scam syndicate’.

At least 10 members of the JP Dragon Syndicate have been arrested by the BI in the Philippines since 2024, with seven members recently arrested in two separate operations in Bulacan and Manila last May.

Meanwhile, 62-year-old Japanese national Kunio Aihara was arrested along F.B. Harrison Street, Pasay City following a mission order issued by BI Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado.

Kunio was found to be overstaying and was tagged as an undesirable alien after the BI received a report from Japanese authorities that the suspect was the subject of a warrant of arrest issued by the Tokyo Summary Court on May 28 for robbery causing injury in violation of the Japanese Penal Code.

The suspect allegedly robbed and assaulted a victim three decades ago and stole the victim’s wallet containing cash worth 700,000 yen, with the victim requiring medical treatment due to multiple injuries.

The suspects were arrested in two separate operations in coordination with the Fugitive Search Unit (FSU), Philippine Navy, and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Northern Luzon.

The suspects will be transferred to the Bureau of Immigration Warden Facility. DMS