Two Japanese men who are suspected members of the notorious “Luffy” criminal gang in Japan were deported on Tuesday, March 26, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) announced.
“We will not allow our country to be used as a hiding ground for criminals and syndicates,” declared BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco in a statement.
Tansingco identified those deported as Sugano Kazushi and Shimoeda Saito, both of whom left the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) aboard a flight for Tokyo, Japan.
“Their deportation is a significant achievement in our efforts to disrupt criminal networks victimizing unsuspecting individuals,” he said.
“This successful deportation is a testament to the collaborative partnership and good relationship between the Philippines and Japan,” he added.
The BI said that the two Japanese men arrived in the Philippines in 2019. Subsequently, the Japanese government asked the Philippines to arrest them to face criminal charges.
“Kazushi and Saito were deported for being undesirable aliens after the Japanese government tagged them as fugitives from justice for reportedly working as fraudulent callers for a criminal group victimizing their compatriots,” it said.
“They were said to be the subjects of an arrest warrant issued by the Tokyo Summary Court for being part of a large-scale telecom fraud group.” it noted.
Last year, the BI deported four alleged members of “Luffy.” namely, Tomonobu Saito, Yuki Watanabe, Kiyoto and Fujita Toshiya.