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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Suspected 'Luffy' gang member arrested in Las Pinas City

Suspected 'Luffy' gang member arrested in Las Pinas City

Published Apr 23, 2025 06:53 am

A Japanese man suspected to be a member of the notorious “Luffy” gang was arrested last April 22 in Las Pinas City, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) said.

Bureau of Immigration.jpeg

In a statement, BI Commissioner Joel Anthony M. Viado identified the arrested foreigner as Takuya Hoshino, 23.

“Like his colleagues in the syndicate whom we have earlier arrested, he, too, will be deported, blacklisted, and banned from re-entering the Philippines,” Viado said.

Hoshino is now detained at the BI's facility in Taguig City pending his deportation.

The BIR said “Hoshino is subject of an outstanding arrest warrant issued by the Tokyo Summary Court on Sept. 15, 2022 after he was charged with theft in violation of the Japanese penal code.”

It said that “Hoshino and his cohorts stole ATM cards, preying on unsuspecting elderly victims by impersonating law enforcement officers.”

“They were said to have staged fake police investigations to dupe their victims into surrendering their bank cards,” it also said.

“Over 20 million yen, or more than $141,000, in cash were reportedly siphoned off by the suspects through unauthorized withdrawals from the stolen cards,” it added.

Records of the BI showed that Hoshino arrived in the Philippines on Oct. 30, 2019 and has not left since then. In 2022, the BI issued a deportation order against him for being an undesirable alien.

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