MANILA – Two foreign nationals will be deported to their homelands to answer criminal charges filed against them, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) reported on Friday.
Commissioner Norman Tansingco identified them as Lee Yeonghak, 44, from South Korea, and American Stan Ray Hudgins, 63, who were arrested in separate operations conducted in Manila and Pampanga by operatives from the BI’s fugitive search unit (FSU) this week.
Both were arrested on the strength of mission orders that the BI issued at the request of the South Korean and US authorities.
The South Korean was collared on Wednesday along Maria Orosa Street, Ermita, while Hudgins was apprehended Tuesday in Mabalacat.
Tansingco said the duo will be deported for being undesirable aliens, and for being undocumented as a result of the cancellation of their passports by their governments.
They are now detained at the BI warden facility in Camp Bagong Diwa, Taguig City pending deportation proceedings.
BI-FSU acting chief Rendel Ryan Sy said Lee is wanted by authorities in Seoul for involvement in illegal online gaming operations.
The Daegu district prosecutor’s office issued a warrant for his arrest for allegedly setting up gambling sites on the internet.
He allegedly connived with the head of a syndicate in establishing the said online gaming sites since 2022 from which they raked profits amounting to 90 billion won, or roughly USD67 million.
As for Hudgins, Sy said the American has a warrant of arrest issued by a family court in Richard County, South Carolina for non-payment of child support.
Intelligence reports described Hudgins as armed and dangerous as he allegedly always carries a deadly weapon.
Human trafficking victims
Meanwhile, two human trafficking victims, a male and a female, were intercepted by the BI at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 after presenting fake documents they bought on Facebook.
The victims, 51 and 30 years old, were stopped last March 19 after attempting to travel to Oman on board an Emirates flight transiting through Dubai.
The victims claimed that they are bound for the Arab region to visit their respective spouses, who they alleged are overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).
However, frontline immigration officers noted inconsistencies in their statements and documents, and were referred for secondary inspection where they admitted to have bought marriage certificates from fixers they met on Facebook.
The victims were reportedly instructed to pose as tourists, sponsored by their fake spouses, and were promised work as a car painter and a salon worker in Oman, with an expected monthly salary of only 250 Riyals. (PNA)
