Morente 

BI lauds men for arrest of 85 fugitives amid pandemic

January 11, 2022 Jun I. Legaspi 499 views

BUREAU of Immigration (BI) Commissioner Jaime Morente lauded BI operatives for arresting a total of 85 foreign fugitives wanted in their homelands, despite the ongoing pandemic.

Morente said the fugitives were arrested in numerous operations conducted by members of the BI’s Fugitive Search Unit (FSU), who served warrants to the arrested aliens.

The FSU is a dedicated unit of the Bureau tasked in arresting fugitives from justice. Information about the fugitives’ cases often come from foreign governments, as well as intelligence groups such as the Interpol.

The number of arrested in 2021 is significantly higher compared the 55 arrested in 2020.

“Despite the pandemic, our operatives remain alert and continue our investigations against these illegal aliens, who thought they can evade justice by hiding in our country,” said Morente. “We will do everything in our power arrest them, deport them, and ensure they are never able to return here,” he stated.

BI FSU Chief Rendel Ryan Sy reported that 55 South Koreans topped the list of those arrested, followed by 8 Americans, 7 Chinese, 3 Japanese, and 3 Taiwanese.

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

Notable arrests include the arrest of Lee Honhee and Seo Jungnam, both Korean nationals arrested in January 2021. Lee is wanted in Incheon for attempted murder, while Seo is wanted for allegedly being a leader of an online prostitution ring.

Also arrested in 2021 was Ivaldi Antonello, an Italian with a warrant issued against him for rape, who arrested at the BI Pampanga Field office in February. A Japanese national, Fujita Toshiya, was also arrested in February for alleged involvement in telco fraud.

The month of April saw the arrest of South Koreans Jung Myunghun, Yu Daewoong, and Kang Wesung, who are among Korea’s most wanted, for being leaders of a big-time online scam.

In July, the FSU arrested Pascal Dider Gillot for alleged sexual abuse of minors, while Taiwanese Huang Kuan-I who was wanted for attempted murder for 17 years in his country, was arrested in September.

Lee Jaehun, a Korean, was arrested on December 21 for reportedly being the boss of an illegal online gambling mafia.

“Despite the challenges of the pandemic, we will not stop until we arrest each and every fugitive who take advantage of the Filipino hospitality to escape their crimes. We will find them, arrest them, and deport them,” warned Morente.

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