BI nabbed 55 foreign fugitives in 2020

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) arrested a total of 55 foreign fugitives wanted for serious crimes in their respective countries in 2020. But Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente said the number of arrest was lower than the 420 foreign fugitives nabbed by BI operatives in 2019 due to quarantine restrictions brought by the COVID-19 pandemic. “[T]here were lesser operations conduc­ted against alien fugitives in 2020 [because of] quarantine restrictions set in place during the majority of the year,” Morente said in a statement. “[But] despite the challenges that the pandemic has brought to us, we still managed to apprehend high profile fugitives wanted for serious offenses by authorities in their home countries,” he added. Among those arrested included sex offen­ders, investment scammers, swindlers and telecommunications fraudsters. South Koreans topped the list of those arrested with 26, followed by 10 Japanese nationals, nine Americans and six Chinese nationals. —Tina G. Santos