BI reports 83 foreign fugitives arrested in 2021

Eighty-three foreign fugitives were arrested in the Philippines in 2021, compared to 55 in 2020, the Bureau of Immigration said.

BI Commissioner Jaime Morente said that arrest warrants were issued for these 83 aliens, who were seized in various operations conducted by the members of the BI’s Fugitive Search Unit (FSU).

BI-FSU Chief Rendel Ryan Sy reported that 55 South Koreans topped this list, followed by eight Americans, seven Chinese, three Japanese, and three Taiwanese.

“Many of those arrested were involved in fraud, economic crimes, cybercrimes, and sexual offenses,” Sy said.

The FSU is BI’s dedicated unit tasked in arresting fugitives from justice. Information about the cases often come from foreign governments and intelligence groups such as the Interpol.

According to BI, some of the notable arrests last year included that of South Korean nationals Lee Honhee and Seo Jungnam in January. Lee was wanted in Incheon for attempted murder, while Seo was wanted for allegedly being a leader of an online prostitution ring.

In February, Italian Ivaldi Antonello, who had a warrant issued against him for rape, was arrested at the BI Pampanga Field Office. Japanese Fujita Toshiya was also nabbed that month for alleged involvement in telco fraud.

Meanwhile, South Koreans Jung Myunghun, Yu Daewoong, and Kang Wesung, who were among South Korea’s most wanted for being leaders of a big-time online scam, were seized in April.

This was followed by the arrest of French national Pascal Dider Gillot for alleged sexual abuse of minors in July and Taiwanese Huang Kuan-I in September for being wanted for 17 years due to attempted murder.

Just on December 21, 2021, BI caught South Korean Lee Jaehun for reportedly being the boss of an illegal online gambling mafia.

Morente said that amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the BI operatives remain alert and continue their operations against these illegal aliens who “take advantage of the Filipino hospitality to escape their crimes.”

“We will do everything in our power to arrest them, deport them, and ensure they are never able to return here,” he added. — BM, GMA News