The Bureau of Immigration (BI) announced the arrest of two Korean fugitives wanted by authorities in their country for involvement in telecommunications fraud.

In a statement, BI Commissioner Jaime Morente identified the two aliens as Han Sangkyung and Jo Sunglae, both 35 years old, who were arrested on Sunday in Pasay City by operatives from the bureau’s fugitive search unit (FSU).

Morente said Han will be soon be sent back to Korea as an order for his deportation was already issued by the BI in 2017 while Jo has yet to undergo deportation proceedings before the BI legal division.

“The two of them will be expelled, blacklisted and banned from re-entering the country for being undesirable aliens,” Morente said.

BI-FSU acting chief Rendel Ryan Sy disclosed Han and Jo are also subjects of red notices from the Interpol due to arrest warrants that issued against them by the courts in Korea.

Sy added that Han had been hiding in the country for more than six years or since February 2016 while Jo hid here for almost five years as never departed since he arrived in July 2017.

Information obtained from the Interpol’s national central bureau (NCB) in Manila revealed that Han is wanted for allegedly heading a telecom fraud syndicate that preyed on his compatriots whose combined losses amounted to over 80 million Korean won, or roughly US$66,000.

Authorities charged that the suspects made calls to victims who were duped into transferring their money to the syndicate’s fake bank account.

On the other hand, Jo was also tagged as a member of another voice phishing syndicate which allegedly defrauded its victims of more than 52.5 million won or about US43,200.

The Koreans, whose passports were already revoked by their government, are detained at the BI warden facility in Camp Bagong Diwa, Taguig City. BI News