BI arrests 5 foreign fugitives

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) reported that five more international fugitives have been apprehended and will be deported soon to face justice for crimes they committed in their homelands.

According to BI Commissioner Atty. Joel Anthony Viado, the most recent apprehension of wanted foreigners, was comprised of two Koreans, a Chinese, a Taiwanese, and an American. They were arrested by the BI Fugitive Search Unit (BI-FSU) in four separate operations.

Last 2 December in Kabankalan City, Negros Oriental, the Bureau arrested the 66-year-old American Paul Raymond Ross, who is wanted in Pennsylvania for extortion and harassment.

In April 2008, Ross is said to have pleaded guilty to one count of extortion through threatening communications, for which he was sentenced to 27 months in prison and three years of supervised release.

In Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu, on 3 December, BI-FSU operatives arrested two Koreans who were identified as Jung Yunjae, 26-year-old, and Jeon Hyeonuk, 41-year-old, both are wanted in South Korea for kidnapping.

The Ulsan District Court in South Korea issued an arrest order against the two, accusing them of enticing a victim to serve as a model for pornographic ads in Cambodia.

Meanwhile, on 6 December, the Bureau also arrested a Chinese national who was identified as Ji Shunchao, 64-year-old. Ji is wanted by the Shishi Municipal Public Security Bureau in China for claiming fraudulent tax refunds.

According to the Chinese authorities, he allegedly bought an export declaration information sheet and used it, along with counterfeit VAT special invoices, to avail of export tax refunds amounting to almost 14 million renminbi, or roughly US$2 million.

On 8 December, Ye Tian Hao, a 32-year-old Taiwanese national, was taken into custody in Pasay City after the district prosecutor in Taichung, Taiwan, issued an arrest order against him on fraud charges.

Since they exploited a sanctuary to avoid being arrested and prosecuted for their crimes, Atty. Viado stated that those alien fugitives would be deported for being undesirable aliens, and their names would be placed on the BI blacklist to prevent them from re-entering the country.

“Our campaign to apprehend and eliminate these fugitives who pose a serious threat to public safety and security will not be slowed down,” the BI chief added.

All five foreign fugitives are currently detained at the BI Warden Facility in Camp Bagong Diwa, Taguig City, pending their deportation proceedings.