By Ferdinand Patinio
MANILA – The Bureau of Immigration (BI) on Tuesday deported five Japanese nationals allegedly involved in fraud and theft activities in Japan.
BI Warden Facility Chief Velasco Felix said the deportees, Iwamoto Miyako, 34; Osawa Ayumi, 33; Norichika Harada, 48; Nobuyuki Arima, 45; and Yuya Yano, 34, boarded a Japan Airlines flight bound for Tokyo on Tuesday morning via Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3.
The group was previously arrested by the BI’s Fugitive Search Unit in the provinces of Bulacan and Quezon.
Authorities identified several of them as members of a breakaway faction of the notorious “JP Dragon” syndicate, engaged in large-scale scam operations targeting victims, including the elderly.
Japanese authorities had issued warrants for their arrest for crimes involving fraud and theft, including schemes where victims were deceived into surrendering bank information and funds.
The BI confirmed that the fugitives were engaged in suspicious activities in the Philippines, including operating online workstations linked to scamming operations.
Their names have been included in the bureau’s blacklist, barring them from re-entering the country. (PNA)
