A total of 128 foreign fugitives. mostly South Koreans, have been arrested by the Bureau of Immigration last year.

The BI Fugitive Search Unit (FSU) disclosed that a total 39 South Koreans were captured in various parts of the Philippines. They have already been turned over to South Korean authorities.

Next to South Koreans were 25 Chinese fugitives who escaped China to hide in the Philippines. They were followed by 15 Vietnamese, 12 Taiwanese, 11 Americans and eight Japanese.

The undesirable aliens have been involved in various crimes such as investment scams, illegal gambling, money laundering, telecommunications fraud, robbery and smuggling.

“Our country is off limits to these foreign fugitives,” said BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco.

He explained: “They are not welcome here and there will be no letup in our campaign to hunt and deport them so they could be tried for the criminal cases that were filed against them.”

Most of those arrested were cornered by FSU operatives after informants came forward to reveal the real identities of the suspects and the crimes, they were involved in.

BI’s biggest catch was Mangpreet Singh and followers in the Indian extremist group Khalistan Tiger Force.

Also caught in the Philippines last year were Risa Yamada, Fujita Kairi and Sato Shohei, reportedly members of the Luffy Syndicate in Japan. The fugitives were reportedly behind the spate of robberies and fraud cases across their country.