Japanese Fugitive Arrested in Philippines for Theft in Tokyo

In a recent operation, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) in the Philippines apprehended a 28-year-old Japanese man, Tsukita Yuhei, in Pampanga province. The arrest, executed by the BI’s Fugitive Search Unit, followed a mission order from Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado. Yuhei, wanted in Tokyo for theft, was captured on Fields Avenue in Angeles City. The Japanese government had sought his arrest after learning of his presence in the Philippines. Commissioner Viado stated that Yuhei, classified as an undesirable alien, would be deported and barred from re-entering the country. A Tokyo summary court had issued an arrest warrant for Yuhei on October 27, 2022, charging him with theft under Article 235 of Japan’s penal code. He allegedly stole over 724,000 Japanese yen, equivalent to more than US$4,600, through unauthorized withdrawals using stolen cards. Yuhei, who arrived in the Philippines on March 16, 2019, and overstayed, is currently detained at the BI warden facility in Camp Bagong Diwa, Taguig City, awaiting deportation. In a separate incident, BI officers at Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 in Pasay City thwarted a woman’s attempt to board a flight to the Netherlands using a passport with a counterfeit departure stamp. The 37-year-old, who claimed to be a tourist, was caught after BI’s forensic documents laboratory confirmed the stamp’s falsity. She admitted to using the services of a fixer she met at the airport. The woman was handed over to the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking for further assistance.