2 alleged Japanese crime ring members deported

FILE: Bureau of Immigration building in Manila. (Photo by Elmer B. Domingo – Own work/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0)

MANILA – Two Japanese nationals who are allegedly members of a crime ring behind a series of violent robberies in their home country were deported on Tuesday.

In a statement, Bureau of Immigration (BI) Commissioner Norman Tansingco said Toshiya Fujita and Kiyoto Imamura, both 38, boarded a Japan Airlines flight past 9 a.m.

He added that maximum security has been implemented to ensure the smooth deportation of these high-profile criminals.

The two have been tagged by the Japanese government as fugitives from justice with warrants issued against them.

Fujita was apprehended by the BI Fugitive Search Unit in Barangay Anilao Proper in Mabini, Batangas on Feb. 21, 2021, and has been tagged by Japanese authorities as a senior member of an organized fraud group engaged in a phone scam. An arrest warrant was reportedly issued against him in Tokyo.

Imamura was arrested a day after Christmas in 2019 after attempting to depart at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3, via a Cebu Pacific flight bound for Macau. He reportedly faces a warrant of arrest in his country for theft.

Both faced a local case in the Philippines, which was subsequently dismissed.

They were deported for violating the terms and conditions of their visa for being a fugitive, as well as being a risk to public interest.

“While the identity of ’Luffy’ is not yet confirmed, we are working with the Department of Justice and the Japanese authorities to be able to expedite the deportation to give more clarity to this case,” the BI chief said in a statement.

On the other hand, two other key suspects remain in the BI’s facility in Bicutan pending the resolution of their local cases.

They will be immediately deported once the BI receives confirmation that their cases have been resolved.

“The arrest and deportation of these fugitives is a huge win for the Philippine government, as we will not rest until these international criminals are sent back and banned from our country,” he added.