The Bureau of Immigration reported Sunday that its operatives arrested a South Korean fugitive wanted by authorities in Seoul for involvement in a multi-million telecommunications fraud case.
The BI Fugitive Search Unit identified the fugitive as Lee Won Ho, who was nabbed at his residence in BF Tahanan Village in Parañaque City.
According to BI-FSU acting chief Rendell Ryan Sy, the Korean had an arrest warrant issued by the Incheon district court in Seoul where he was indicted for fraud and that the suspect’s passport was already revoked.
Sy added that Lee was tagged as a high-ranking member of the so-called Minju Family, a big-time telecom fraud syndicate allegedly operating in Manila. The syndicate is suspected of having defrauded over US$21 million from its Korean victims based overseas.
BI commissioner Norman Tansingco, on the other hand, said that Lee will be deported immediately and his name has already been placed on the immigration blacklist to prevent him from re-entering the country once he is deported.
The Bureau said that Lee is also an undesirable alien whose presence here in the country poses a serious risk to the public interest and that he should be perpetually barred from entering the Philippines.
The suspect is now detained at the BI Warden Facility in Camp Bagong Diwa, Taguig City, pending his deportation proceedings going back to South Korea.