Japanese 'fugitive' arrested in Makati City -- BI

A Japanese fugitive who is wanted as a suspected member of the notorious “Luffy” gang in Japan has been arrested in Makati City, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) said on Monday, May 27.

Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco identified the fugitive as Nagaura Hiroki, 26, who was arrested by operatives of the BI’s Fugitive Search Unit (BI-FSU) last Sunday, May 26, along Estrella Avenue in Barangay Poblacion in Makati City.

Tansingco said the BI board of commissioners ordered in 2022 Hiroki’s summary deportation after Japanese authorities informed the bureau of his presence in the country.

“Hiroki was already placed in our immigration blacklist of undesirable aliens, thus he is perpetually barred from reentering the Philippines,” he said.

The BI said “Hiroki had hidden in the Philippines since Nov. 20, 2019 when he last arrived in the country as a tourist.”

“Hiroki reportedly has a standing warrant of arrest issued by the Tokyo Summary Court for theft in Violation of  the Japanese Penal Code,” it said.

“Tokyo policemen alleged that he conspired with another suspect in robbing a home by falsely impersonating a police officer which enabled them to enter the residential premise under the pretext of investigating a stolen ATM card,” it added.

Also, the BI said Hiroki is under investigation by Japanese authorities for his involvement in alleged telecommunications fraud activities.

Hiroki is now detained at the BI's facility in Taguig City pending his deporation.

Six alleged members of the "Luffy" gang had been deported by the BI since 2023.  They were identified as Sugano Kazushi, Shimoeda Saito, Tomonobu Saito, Yuki Watanabe, Imamura Kiyoto and Fujita Toshiya.