INQUIRER file photo / ALEXIS CORPUZ
MANILA, Philippines — The Bureau of Immigration (BI) arrested two more Japanese nationals suspected to have links to the Japanese crime syndicate “Luffy,” which made headlines last month.
Fujita Kairi, 24, and Kumai Hitomi, 25, were arrested on Friday afternoon in BF Homes in Parañaque City by agents of the BI’s fugitive search unit.
Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco said they received information from Japanese authorities that the two have standing warrants of arrest issued by the Tokyo Summary Court on September 2022 for theft in violation of the Japanese Penal Code.
“This is a major breakthrough in the case, as we have finally arrested more suspects involved in this major case in Japan,” Tansingco said. “They will finally be facing their crimes in their homeland,” he added.
How Kairi and Hitomi were related to the crime syndicate was not elaborated by the BI.The syndicate’s supposed leader, Yuki Watanabe, was arrested last month. The government hastened his deportation, along with three other Japanese nationals suspected to be syndicate members, just a day before President Marcos went on a state visit to Japan.
Both Kairi and Hitomi have been tagged by the BI as undesirable aliens, but the BI did not say when the two will be deported or if they have any pending local cases that could delay their deportation just like what happened with their predecessor, Watanabe.
Both have been transferred to the BI facility in Bicutan, Taguig, pending their deportation.