South Korean fugitive arrested after 5 years of manhunt
INQUIRER file photo / ALEXIS CORPUZ
MANILA, Philippines — A South Korean national who is a fugitive in his country was arrested after about five years of intensive manhunt and surveillance operations, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) reported on Thursday.
Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco identified the suspect as Kang Hee Woo.
According to the BI, Kang was issued an order for summary deportation in 2018, after the South Korean authorities informed them about his crimes.
It was also reported that since 2021, he has been a subject for an Interpol red notice, “a request to law enforcement worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, surrender, or similar legal action,” as Interpol defined.
“It took almost five years of intensive manhunt and surveillance operations before we were able to arrest him. This serves as a warning to other foreign fugitives hiding in the Philippines. The long arm of the law will eventually catch you wherever you may be,” Tansingco said in a statement.
The BI shared that the South Korean was arrested on Wednesday in Mabalacat City, Pampanga by the elements from their fugitive search unit.
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The BI said he was charged in South Korea due to his engagement in telecommunication fraud.
The bureau noted that according to the Interpol’s National Central Bureau in Manila, Kang has separate arrest warrants from Seoul Central District Court and from Seoul Dongbu Central District Court.
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The alien was accused of being a ranking member of Youngjae-Han telecom fraud, a syndicate believed to have defrauded victims of over one billion won by employing voice phishing operations in Korea.
Kang is now detained at the bureau’s warden facility in Taguig City waiting for his immediate deportation, the BI said.
It added that he was placed in the bureau’s blacklist and is no longer allowed to re-enter the country.
