THE Bureau of Immigration (BI) is set to deport a South Korean and a Taiwanese national wanted by authorities for crimes related to illegal narcotics.
In a report to Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente, the Bureau’s Fugitive Search Unit (FSU) identified the South Korean fugitive as 44-year-old Choi Sungeun, who was arrested last Thursday in his hotel room at Bgy. Tramo in Pasay City.
Choi was arrested on the strength of a warrant of deportation which Morente issued pursuant to a deportation order that was issued against the Korean by the BI Board of Commissioners in 2019 for being an undesirable alien.
He has also been tagged as an undocumented alien due to the cancellation of his passport by the South Korean government.
According to BI-FSU Acting Chief Rendel Ryan Sy, Choi is subject of an arrest warrant issued by a district court in South Korea, where he is charged with trading psychotropic substances in violation of his country’s narcotics control act.
Sy said Choi was accused of using the social media websites to solicit buyers of illegal drugs, and for receiving money from clients by instructing them to deposit the said payments into his bank accounts.
His racket was allegedly exposed when a police officer posed as a customer, and picked the illegal drugs from places where he had hidden them.
BI records also show that Choi had hidden in the Philippines since May 2017 when he arrived as a tourist, and has not left the country since then.
Sy also reported the arrest of Tsai Tsung-Yu, 26, Taiwanese national, who was apprehended in Tambo, Paranaque City.
Tsai, who also goes by the alias Cai Zong-You, is a wanted fugitive in Taiwan, and was arrested pursuant to a mission order issued earlier against him.
Communication from Taiwanese authorities revealed that Tsai has an outstanding warrant of arrest issued by the Taiwan New Taipei District Prosecutors Office for drug trafficking, in violation of Taiwan’s laws on narcotics hazards prevention.
The BI’s database also revealed that Tsai is an overstaying alien whose visa expired more than a year ago.
Both Choi and Tsai will be detained at the Bureau’s holding facility in Bicutan, Taguig while awaiting deportation.
Both will also be placed in the BI’s blacklist, which will perpetually ban them from re-entering the Philippines.
