(INQUIRER file photo)
MANILA, Philippines —The Bureau of Immigration (BI) has arrested four South Korean fugitives wanted in their home country for serious crimes.
Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco on Wednesday said the four fugitives were arrested this month in separate operations conducted by the BI’s Fugitive Search Unit (FSU) in Metro Manila and Pampanga.
The arrested fugitives were identified as Chun Junghoon, 39; Kim Jingsuk, 44; Park Geon Jin, 34; and Park Kyoungtae, 40; who are wanted in Seoul for telecommunications fraud and illegal gambling.
The BI said Chun was arrested on Feb. 1 in San Antonio Village, Pasig City and has been on the bureaus’ wanted list since 2020.
He is wanted for being part of a telecom fraud syndicate that swindled more than 3 million won or nearly US$3,000 through voice phishing.
On Feb. 8, the BI FSU arerested Kim and Park Geon Jin in Bgy. Anonas, Angeles City, Pampanga.
Kim, the BI said, is wanted for embezzling 367 million won, or roughly US$300,000 from his employer while Park Geon Jin is tagged as a member of a voice phishing syndicate.
Meanwhile, Park Kyoungtae was also arrested on Feb. 8 in Angeles City. He is wanted for illegally operating a gambling website since 2020, the BI said.
“We are in the midst of an intensified campaign to flush out these wanted foreigners who are using the country as a refuge to elude arrest and prosecution for crimes they committed in their homeland,” Tansingco said in a statement.
He added that the South Koreans will be deported for being undesirable and undocumented aliens.
They will likewise be placed in the immigration blacklist, thus banning them from reentering the country.
The BI said the four aliens are currently detained at the BI warden facility in Camp Bagong Diwa,Taguig while awaiting deportation. (Mae Anne F. Bilolo, INQUIRER.net intern)