The Bureau of Immigration (BI) announced Friday the arrest of a South Korean man wanted for drug trafficking by Interpol and authorities in Seoul.

BI Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado identified the captured fugitive as Maeng Juhwan, who was apprehended by operatives of the BI Fugitive Search Unit (BI-FSU) along Jupiter Street in Bel Air, Makati City.

“We will deport him because he is an undesirable and overstaying alien whose presence here poses a risk to public safety and security,” Viado said.

The BI chief added that Juhwan will be returned to South Korea once the BI board of commissioners issues a deportation order. He will also be placed on the BI blacklist, permanently barring him from re-entering the Philippines.

BI-FSU Chief Rendel Ryan Sy revealed that Juhwan was also the subject of an Interpol red notice issued on 13 February. The notice stated that the Chuncheon district court issued an arrest warrant for Juhwan on 25 October 2023, for violating South Korea’s Narcotics Control Act.

According to reports, Juhwan allegedly orchestrated the smuggling of Philopon, a methamphetamine residue commonly abused in South Korea. The contraband, concealed in a snack bag carried by an accomplice, was reportedly transported via international airports on two separate occasions in September 2023.

Sy further stated that Juhwan had overstayed his visa in the Philippines by more than two years, since 23 August 2023, according to his travel records.

Juhwan is currently being held at the BI Warden Facility in Camp Bagong Diwa, Taguig City, while awaiting deportation proceedings.