By Benjamin Cuaresma
MANILA, Philippines — Two South Korean fugitives wanted for allegedly operating multimillion-dollar fraud syndicates were intercepted at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) after Bureau of Immigration (BI) officers confirmed they were subjects of INTERPOL Red Notices.
BI-INTERPOL Acting Chief Peter De Guzman identified the suspects as Lee Jaeryeon, 32, and An Intae, 29, who were separately arrested at NAIA Terminal 1 on October 20 while preparing to board flights to Vietnam.
Lee allegedly operated as an agent of a romance scam syndicate in Sihanoukville, Cambodia, targeting victims through social media and fraudulent websites that collected fictitious fees.
An, meanwhile, was linked to an alleged stock investment scam that used fake websites, KakaoTalk and Instagram to lure victims into depositing money into accounts controlled by the syndicate.
Authorities estimate that the two operations generated more than 3.7 billion South Korean won, or approximately US$2.8 million.
Immigration Commissioner Joel Anthony M. Viado ordered both suspects blacklisted and barred from future entry into the Philippines.
They remain detained at the BI facility in Taguig City pending deportation proceedings.
Viado vowed continued intelligence-sharing and intensified border screening to prevent foreign fugitives from using the country as a transit point or refuge.
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