A fugitive South Korean who is allegedly a member of a big-time illegal drugs smuggling syndicate in his country has been arrested in Cebu City, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) said on Wednesday, Oct. 25.
The BI identified the arrested fugitive as Choi Sun Hyeok, 56, a suspected member of the MS Alliance syndicate which is reportedly engaged in the transport of illegal drugs from the Philippines to South Korea
Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco said Choi "will be immediately deported to Seoul after the BI secures the necessary clearance for his departure."
Tansingco also said that Choi's passport had been cancelled by the South Korean government and the foreigner will be included in BI's blacklist and banned from re-entering the Philippines.
The BI said that Choi was arrested at his residence in Barangay Lahug in Cebu City last Tuesday, Oct. 24, by operatives of the BI’s Fugitive Search Unit (FSU). The arrest was done based on a summary deportation order that the BI board of commissioners issued against the fugitive in 2017.
“A red notice for his capture was issued by the Interpol (International Criminal Police Organization) this year after investigation confirmed his presence in the country,” it said.
“According to the Interpol’s National Central Bureau (NCB) in Manila, Choi is subject of an arrest warrant issued by the Changwon district court in Korea where he is charged with violating his country’s narcotics control act,” it also said.
It noted that this year alone, “Choi’s accomplices in the syndicate managed to smuggle into Korea more than 265 grams of methamphetamine by concealing the drug in their underwear.”
Choi will be detained at the BI's facility in Taguig City pending his deportation, it added.