Taiwanese 'fugitive' arrested in cruise ship docked in Ilocos Sur --BI
A Taiwanese national, who is wanted in the United States where he was a former citizen, was arrested by the Bureau of Immigration (BI) while on board a cruise ship that docked in Ilocos Sur.
He was identified by Immigration Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado as Tsai Chin Hao, 54 years old.
Viado said the Tsai was arrested by the operatives of the BI’s Fugitive Search Unit (BI-FSU) with the support of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) last Nov. 22 onboard MV Star Navigator which docked at the Port of Curimao in Ilocos Sur from Kaoshiung, Taiwan.
The BI said “Tsai was the subject of an International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) alert which was backed by an outstanding warrant of arrest in the United States, marking him a fugitive from justice.”
It also said “the alert was checked and verified by the BI Interpol Unit.”
“A team of eight immigration officers deployed by the BI's bay service section to conduct the boarding and immigration formalities aboard MV Star Navigator detected the Interpol alert as the vessel entered Philippine territory and immediately coordinated the matter with the concerned operating units,” it added.