The Bureau of Immigration (BI) reported the arrest of two South Koreans tagged as wanted fugitives for operating a big-time illegal gambling racket on the Internet.
In a report to Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente, BI’s Fugitive Search Unit (FSU) Chief Rendel Sy, identified the captured alien fugitives as 42-year-old Kim Hyundou and 37-year-old Lee Hyunjoo, who were arrested on Saturday in a residential area in Alabang, Muntinlupa City.
Kim was arrested on the strength of Warrant of Deportation that Morente issued, following information from South Korean authorities which sought his deportation so he could face the criminal charges that were filed against him.
He is allegedly the subject of two warrants of arrest in Suwon District Court and the Seoul Central District Court for violating his country’s National Sports Promotion Act.
It was further learned that an Interpol red notice was issued against the Korean in 2019, two years after he fled the Philippines to evade investigation and prosecution for his crimes.
Authorities alleged that between October 2014 to December 2016, Kim and his accomplices opened several sites in the Internet wherein customers from Korea, Japan and Hongkong gambled by betting on the results of international sports competitions.
BI agents nab big-time Korean fugitives wanted for illegal gambling
Investigators placed the total profits earned by the suspects from their racket over the years at nearly 1 billion won.
During the course of the operation against Kim, FSU agents came across Lee in the same vicinity. Records revealed that Lee is also a subject of a summary deportation order that the BI issued in 2020 for being a fugitive in Korea. Lee faces an arrest warrant issued by Seoul Central District Court for a similar case.
Morente said the duo will be deported for being undesirable and undocumented aliens, adding that their passports were already revoked by the Korean government.
“The two will then be placed in our Immigration blacklist to prevent them from re-entering the country,” the BI Chief added. “We will not allow these fugitives to hide in the Philippines to escape their crimes. Through our close coordination with our foreign counterparts, we will make sure to rid the country of their presence, and bring them to justice,” he stated.
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