By Lane Afable, News Editor
The 3-month old saga of two Japanese crooks to “live off the grid” and evade from justice was effectively punctuated when they were collared in a hot pursuit operation conducted by joint agents of the Bureau of Immigration (BI) and of the National Police Agency of Japan in Pasay City the other day.
BI Fugitive Search Unit (FSU) agents, in coordination with the NPAJ, apprehended Oi Takumi, 30, and Okada Sho, 27, along Roxas Boulevard, Pasay City.
The two are subjects of active arrest warrants issued on earlier this month by the Kokura Summary Court in Japan for fraud under the Japanese Penal Code.
Japanese authorities said the suspects allegedly conspired to carry out a financial scam by impersonating law enforcement officers.
Their arrest was carried out following close coordination with Japanese authorities, who also requested the preservation of digital evidence, including mobile phones and computers, to support ongoing investigations.
Immigration records show that both individuals last entered the Philippines on January this year as temporary visitors. However, they failed to extend or update their stay, resulting in their classification as overstaying aliens, which also serves as basis for deportation.
BI Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado stressed the Bureau’s firm stance against foreign fugitives saying:
“Foreign nationals who come to the Philippines to evade justice in their home countries will find no refuge here. We are working closely with our international partners to ensure that fugitives are located, arrested, and returned to face the consequences of their crimes.”
The suspects are at the BI Warden Facility, where they will face the deportation case filed against them.
