Korean wanted for cyberfraud stopped from leaving airport
IMMIGRATION agents stopped a Korean national wanted in his country for cyberfraud from leaving the country on Dec. 19, the bureau said in a statement on Thursday.
In a report, Immigration port operations division chief Grifton SP. Medina said the Korean had tried to board a flight to Hong Kong from the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
The suspect was on the Interpol’s database of wanted foreign fugitives and the Interpol issued a red notice against him in December 2018 after Korean authorities reported that he was wanted for prosecution. The suspect allegedly victimized 42 people.
The Immigration bureau said the Korean government had canceled his passport and a district court in Daejeon, South Korea had issued a warrant for his arrest.
The suspect was booked on the next available flight to Korea, where authorities were waiting for his arrival.
Reports of lawyer Rommer Tacorda, chief of border control and intelligence unit, showed that the Korean was accused of operating an illegal call center in Dalian in China, which was engaged in voice phishing activities targeting Koreans.
The bureau said Korean prosecutors alleged that the suspect and his cohorts had defrauded 42 people of 2.2 billion Korean won or about $1.7 million.
It added that the suspect and his cohorts had their victims by pretending to be police detectives or prosecutors. They threatened them with arrest and prosecution unless they paid. — Vann Marlo M. Villegas
