THREE South Koreans said to be among the most wanted fugitives in their homeland and who were tagged as leaders of a big-time syndicate that operated an online scam that victimized thousands of their compatriots were arrested by the Bureau of Immigration (BI).
The three aliens were arrested on Tuesday in operations conducted in Parañaque City and Pantabangan, Nueva Ecija by operatives from the BI’s fugitive search unit (FSU) headed by Bobby Raquepo and in coordination with the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group Major Crimes Investigation Unit (CIDG-MCIU).
They were identified as Jung Myunghun, 38, allegedly the syndicate’s top leader; Yu Daewoong, 38, and Kang Wesung, 36, also a leaders of the group.
The three Koreans are high-profile fugitives long sought by Korean authorities and by the Interpol.
Raquepo said Korean authorities sought the assistance of BI in locating and arresting them.
Criminal records show that since July 2014, the suspects allegedly perpetrated an online scam by uploading and advertising items on online second-hand markets, duping victims into purchasing products which turned out to be non-existent.
Raquepo said Korean authorities uncovered thousands of cases—almost 2,600—wherein victims have been defrauded by the suspects. It is estimated that victims incurred a combined loss of more than 10 billion won, or close to US$9 million, from the syndicate’s racket.
It was learned that the warrants for the suspects’ arrest were issued in August last year by the Jeju district court in Korea. If convicted, they could be sentenced to a maximum jail term of 30 years for violating their country’s law against economic crimes.
Their passports have likewise been revoked by Korean authorities, making them undocumented aliens.
The said Koreans are temporarily detained at the CIDG headquarters pending results of their COVID-19 swab tests.
They will be deported to face the cases against them in Korea, and their names shall likewise remain in our blacklist, which effectively bans their re-entry in the country. With Steve A. Gosuico
