MANILA – A Japanese man wanted by authorities in Tokyo for theft was arrested earlier this week in Pampanga province, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) reported on Thursday.
According to Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado, 28-year-old Tsukita Yuhei was arrested on Monday along Fields Avenue in Barangay Balibago, Angeles City by the BI’s Fugitive Search Unit (FSU) on the strength of a mission order he issued.
Viado said the Japanese government requested for Yuhei’s arrest after it reported his presence in the country.
“We are deporting him for being an undesirable alien and his name will be included in our blacklist which would ban him from re-entering the country,” Viado said of the suspect.
BI-FSU chief Rendel Ryan Sy said a warrant for Yuhei’s arrest was issued by a Tokyo summary court on October 27, 2022 after he was charged with theft in violation of Article 235 of Japan’s penal code.
Over 724,000 Japanese yen or more than US$4,600 in cash were allegedly taken by the suspect through unauthorized withdrawals using stolen cards.
A check on Yuhei’s travel record showed that he is already overstaying as he arrived in the Philippines on March 16, 2019 and he never left since then.
Yuhei was committed to the BI warden facility in Camp Bagong Diwa, Taguig City where he will remain while undergoing deportation proceedings.
Meanwhile, the BI also reported that a female traveler was stopped from boarding her flight for presenting a passport with a fake departure stamp by bureau officers at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 in Pasay City on Tuesday.
BI Immigration Protection and Border Enforcement Section (I-PROBES) chief, Mary Jane Hizon, reported on Thursday that the 37-year-old female presented herself as a tourist bound for the Netherlands.
But upon presenting her passport for inspection, officers noted the suspicious immigration clearance stamp, which was later proven to be fake after conducting verification with the BI’s forensic documents laboratory.
The woman alleged that she sought the services of a fixer she met at the lobby of NAIA 3 who offered her immigration assistance.
The scam victim was turned over to the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking for assistance. (PNA)