THE Bureau of Immigration (BI) announced the arrest of a South Korean fugitive wanted by authorities in Seoul, South Korea, for engaging in telecommunications fraud.

In a statement, Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco identified the arrested fugitive as 40-year-old Byun Jonghyun, who was arrested December 18 in Barangay Balibago, Angeles City, Pampanga by operatives from the BI’s Fugitive Search Unit (FSU).

Tansingco said Byun will be deported immediately as an order for his summary deportation was already issued by the BI Board of Commissioners last September.

He was already placed on the immigration blacklist and banned from re-entering the Philippines for being an undesirable alien, the BI chief added.

According to BI-FSU Acting Chief Rendell Ryan Sy, Byun is also the subject of an Interpol “red notice” issued in April 2020.

The said notice stemmed from an arrest warrant issued against the Korean by the Seoul Central District Court, where he was charged with violating his country’s telecommunications business act.

Korean authorities alleged that Byun is a member of an organized crime syndicate based in Manila that defrauds their compatriots back home by engaging in voice phishing operations.

It is estimated that the syndicate’s earnings from the racket already amounted to more than 674 million Korean won or roughly half a million dollars.

The suspect is now detained at the BI Warden Facility in Camp Bagong Diwa, Taguig City, while awaiting his deportation to Korea. By Jun I. Legaspi and Hector Lawas

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Jun I. Legaspi