Manila: Six Japanese nationals identified as members of a notorious crime syndicate were deported on Wednesday by the Bureau of Immigration (BI).
According to Philippines News Agency, BI deportation and implementation unit chief, lawyer Alex Arciaga, stated that Hiraki Ishikawa, 46; Tsubasa Amano, 30; Akira Sambonchiku, 26; Naoto Matsumoto, 36; Rintaro Yamane, 28; and Masato Morihiro, 38, left Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 1 on board a Japan Airlines flight to Tokyo on Wednesday morning.
The Japanese nationals were arrested on May 21 by the BI's Fugitive Search Unit (FSU) in two separate operations in San Jose del Monte City, Bulacan and Ermita, Manila. Rintaro and Masato were apprehended in a condominium unit along Adriatico St. in Ermita, while the others were captured in a residential area along Quirino Highway in Bulacan.
The group was identified by Japanese authorities as members of the "JP Dragon" group, known for large-scale fraud in their home country. The syndicate primarily targets senior citizens in Japan by impersonating authorities to deceive victims into giving large sums of money.
A summary court in Fukuoka, Japan issued arrest warrants against five of the individuals on March 5 due to charges of theft, while Matsumoto was found to be an overstaying alien.
BI Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado emphasized that the deportation signifies the dismantling of the JP Dragon group's operations. He stated, "The collapse of their fraud operations in the country shows that we will not tolerate the presence of foreign syndicates that exploit our people and undermine our laws."
