The Bureau of Immigration (BI) on Wednesday implemented a mass deportation of 49 South Korean fugitives at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3.
BI spokesperson Dana Sandoval said the mass deportation was arranged by the BI’s deportation and implementation unit (DIU) in coordination with the South Korean Embassy, who provided logistical assistance to expedite the deportation of the 49 individuals.
The arrested fugitives were made up of six females and 43 males. All were summarily deported after being tagged by their government as fugitives from justice.
It was learned that most of those deported faced cases of fraud in South Korea.
Among those deported is Choi Hojun, 36, who was arrested by the BI fugitive search unit (FSU) agents headed by Rendel Ryan Sy in Angeles City, Pampanga last April 14.
Sy said Choi is wanted in South Korea for allegedly being the mastermind of a messaging phishing syndicate based in China and the Philippines. Their criminal organization reportedly transferred a total of KRW 1.7 B by illegally accessing sensitive information, particularly banking data of around 200 victims.
Another deportee, identified as Han Jonghoon, 42, was arrested by the FSU in Annapolis, San Juan City last July 4 for allegedly operating 23 illegal online gambling websites targeting Koreans, and reportedly pocketing more than KRW 2 Trillion in profits.
Sy said also deported were Jung Hoesung, 40 and Choi Byeongil, 44. Jung is wanted in Korea for operating illegal online platforms and subjecting recruits to intimidation and physical assault. Choi, on the other hand, is wanted for allegedly being the mastermind behind a real estate deposit loan scam, embezzling billions of Won.
The fugitives were escorted back to South Korea by representatives from BI and the South Korean government.
