The Bureau of Immigration (BI) on Saturday said it has arrested a South African national wanted in Kenya for sexual assault following a joint law enforcement operation in Mandaue City.

Operatives from the BI’s Fugitive Search Unit (FSU), in coordination with the Intelligence Division’s Regional Intelligence Operations Unit 7 (RIOU-7), apprehended 42-year-old Michael James Noble Ballantine, also known as Michael James Ballantine, on March 18 along P.J. Burgos Street.

Ballantine is the subject of an Interpol Red Notice over charges of sexual assault and compelled indecent acts under Kenya’s Sexual Offences Act of 2006.

The BI said it received information through the Philippine Center on Transnational Crime indicating that the suspect is wanted by Kenyan authorities for alleged incidents in August 2024, where he reportedly assaulted victims inside his vehicle.

A Kenyan court issued a warrant for his arrest in September 2024, followed by the issuance of a Red Notice in October after he fled.

Immigration records showed that Ballantine entered the Philippines in December 2024 as a temporary visitor but had overstayed after his authorized stay expired in 2025. He had also been placed under blacklist and watchlist orders that same year for being an undesirable alien and a fugitive from justice.

The BI said the suspect was intercepted after filing an application at its Cebu District Office.

BI Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado reiterated the government’s firm stance against harboring foreign fugitives.

“Foreign nationals who commit crimes, especially those involving sexual offenses, are not welcome in the Philippines,” Viado said. “We will not allow our country to be used as a refuge by fugitives attempting to evade justice.”

He also commended the BI-FSU and partner units for the successful operation, highlighting the importance of inter-agency coordination in addressing cross-border criminal activity.

The suspect is currently in BI custody in Central Visayas and will undergo deportation proceedings.

He will remain detained pending confirmation of his removal from the country and inclusion in the immigration blacklist, which would bar his future re-entry into the Philippines.