Taiwanese wanted for illegal drugs arrested by BI agents in Cavite
The Bureau of Immigration (BI) reported the arrest of a Taiwanese national wanted by authorities in Taipei for alleged involvement in illegal drugs.
Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente said 49-year-old Lee Chun Hsien was arrested Friday at his residence at the corner of Congressional Road and Gen. Mariano Alvarez Street, Cavite City by operatives from the BI’s fugitive search unit (FSU).
Morente said Lee was arrested at the request of the Taipei Cultural Economic Office (TECO) in Manila which informed the BI about the fugitive’s presence in the country.
“Based on our investigation, he (Lee) had been hiding in the Philippines for almost eight years and that he is already an overstaying alien,” Morente said.
He added that Lee applied for extension of his tourist visa only once since he arrived in Manila on Dec. 10, 2009.
Lawyer Ma. Antonette Mangrobang, BI spokesperson, also disclosed that Lee was an undocumented alien due to the cancellation of his passport by the Taiwanese government.
“He (Lee) will, thus, be deported for being an overstaying and undocumented alien, aside from posing risk to public safety and security due to his being a fugitive from justice,” Mangrobang said.
Earlier, TECO informed the BI that Lee was the subject of an arrest warrant which the Taoyuan District Prosecutor’s Office in Taiwan issued against him on Dec. 29, 2010, or more than a year after he fled to the Philippines to evade prosecution and sentence for his crime.
TECO did not provide details about his criminal offense or on how and when he committed his alleged crime.
The BI board of commissioners is expected to issue a summary deportation order against Lee when it meets for its regular meeting this week.