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…
