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A total of 268 “fugitive foreigners” were arrested in various places in the Philippines from Jan. 1 to June 30, 2025, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) said on Sunday, July 27.
The number of arrests was almost 400 percent more than the 69 “fugitives” who were apprehended during the same period in 2024, the BI said in a statement.
BI Commissioner Joel Anthony M. Viado said the Philippines will not be a hiding place for foreign fugitives and “we are determined to flush them out and send them back to face justice in their countries.”
Most of those arrested have undergone deportation proceedings and have been expelled from the country for being undesirable aliens, Viado said.
Citing a report from Chief Rendel Ryan Sy of the BI’s Fugitive Search Unit (BI-FSU), the bureau said the agency’s operatives arrested last February 13 South Korean national Chu Hoyong who is facing charges for defrauding victims of 2.26 billion won using fake real estate collateral.
“Chu is considered a high-value target by Korean authorities and is allegedly linked to telecom fraud operations in the Philippines,” it also said.
From January to April this year, the BI said that four Japanese nationals who are suspected to be members of the “Luffy” criminal syndicate in Japan were arrested.
It said that “Luffy” gang members impersonate police officers to gain entry into homes to carry out robberies.
Last May 21, it also said that more Japanese nationals who were suspected to be members of the “JP Dragon” criminal syndicate were arrested.
The BI said the “JP Dragon” members are known for targeting elderly victims by posing as authorities and stealing their automated teller machine (ATM) cards and bank details.
The group’s alleged leader, Ryuji Yoshioka, was arrested last June 4 in Angeles City in Pampanga, it added.
