TWO FOREIGN nationals, a South Korean and a Taiwanese, both wanted in their respective countries for illegal drug trade, were arrested by Philippine immigration officers last week. 

The Bureau of Immigration (BI), in a statement dated Feb. 13, reported the arrest of a South Korean fugitive in Pasay City and a Taiwanese fugitive in Tambo in Parañaque City.

The South Korean is facing charges for trading psychotropic substances, which violates his country’s narcotics control act.

The fugitive was also accused of using social media platforms to solicit payment from buyers of these illegal drugs. 

Immigration Chief Jamie H. Morente issued a deportation warrant against the South Korean in 2019 for living as an undocumented and “undesirable alien.” 

BI records showed that the fugitive had been hiding in the Philippines since 2017. He was caught during an entrapment operation.

BI Fugitive Search Unit Chief Rendel Ryan Sy, meanwhile, reported the arrest of a Taiwanese wanted for drug trafficking.

The BI database showed that the Taiwanese national had been in the country as an overstaying alien as his visa expired more than a year ago. 

Both fugitives are detained in the BI holding facility in Taguig while awaiting deportation. They are now included in the bureau’s blacklist, which bars them from re-entering the Philippines. — John Victor D. Ordoñez 

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