BI operatives nab Korea’s 3 ‘most wanted’ scammers in Parañaque, Nueva Ecija ops

THE Bureau of Immigration (BI) bared the arrest of three South Korean nationals accused of masterminding a multimilliondollar online scam that duped thousands of their compatriots.

Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente identified the three aliens as Jung Myunghun, 38, allegedly the syndicate’s top leader; Yu Daewoong, 38, and Kang Wesung, 36, also leaders of the group.

The three are considered South Korea’s most wanted fugitives who are being sought by Korean authorities and the Interpol since 2014.

They were arrested on Tuesday in operations conducted in Parañaque City and Pantabangan, Nueva Ecija by operatives from the BI’S Fugitive Search Unit (FSU) in coordination with the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group Major Crimes Investigation Unit (CIDG-MCIU).

BI FSU Chief Bobby Raquepo said Korean authorities sought the assistance of BI in locating and arresting the trio.

Based on the records, the modus of the syndicate include the uploading and advertising of items on online second-hand markets, duping victims into purchasing products, which turned out to be non-existent.

The syndicate victimized at least 2,600 people who incurred combined losses of more than 10 billion won, or close to $9 million.

It was learned that the warrants for the suspects’ arrest were issued in August last year by the Jeju district court in Korea.

If convicted, they could be sentenced to a maximum jail term of 30 years for violating their country’s law against economic crimes.

Their passports have likewise been revoked by Korean authorities, making them undocumented aliens.

“They will be deported to face the cases against them in Korea, and their names shall, likewise, remain on our blacklist, which effectively bans their reentry in the country,” the BI chief said.