15 Fugitives Arrested in the Philippines This Year Through International Cooperation

The Supreme Prosecutors' Office of South Korea announced on December 22, 2024, that they, in collaboration with the Philippines' National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and Bureau of Immigration (BI), have apprehended a key figure involved in operating illegal gambling websites worth approximately 2 trillion KRW.

The suspect, identified as A (35), is accused of running 23 gambling sites from December 2014 to March of last year, receiving 2 trillion KRW in remittances and concealing criminal proceeds amounting to 200 billion KRW, violating the National Sports Promotion Act and the Act on the Concealment of Criminal Proceeds. Investigations revealed that A used the profits to purchase luxury items, including a Bugatti, Ferrari, and high-end Swiss watches like Richard Mille. After fleeing to the Philippines in May 2019, A acquired Venezuelan citizenship the following year.

On December 1, the Busan District Prosecutors' Office received information that a woman associated with A had traveled to the Philippines. Local investigators confirmed A's whereabouts and arrested him on December 3 in Cebu, marking his capture after over five and a half years on the run. A is currently detained at the Bicutan Foreign Detention Center (BDC), and extradition procedures are underway.

Additionally, a prosecutor dispatched to the Philippines arrested B (46) in September, who was involved in a voice phishing scheme. B is accused of receiving scam proceeds and converting them into Philippine pesos in Angeles City. The prosecutor gathered intelligence leading to B's arrest after a joint investigation began in March.

Another suspect, C (23), was apprehended in Manila for attempting to smuggle 480.85 grams of methamphetamine, valued at approximately 48 million KRW, disguised as dried mangoes.

Since establishing a partnership with the NBI in March 2016 and sending two prosecutors to the Philippines in June 2022, the number of arrests has increased from one in 2022 to four last year, and 15 this year. As of September, there are 1,074 individuals with unserved prison sentences who have fled abroad, including to the Philippines.

A prosecutor stated, "We will strengthen our international cooperation system to combat organized crime based overseas and ensure that our national penal authority extends to fugitives as well."