Seven Japanese citizens believed to be members of the notorious JP Dragon gang linked to large-scale fraud in Japan were arrested by the Bureau of Immigration (BI) in two separate operations in Manila and Bulacan.
Immigration Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado said that five of them were arrested in a residential area along Quirino Highway in Bulacan. They were identified as Hiraki Ishikawa, Tsubasa Amano, Sasaki Ken, Akira Sambonchiku, and Naoto Matsumoto.
The other two suspects, Rintaro Yamane and Masato Morihiro, were arrested in a condominium unit along Adriatico Street in Ermita.
The seven individuals were identified by Japanese authorities to be members of the notorious “JP Dragon” group, wanted in their home country for large-scale fraud.
The syndicate is implicated to be involved in a range of illegal activities, mostly fraud, targeting senior citizens in Japan. Their modus is to impersonate authorities to deceive victims into giving large sums of money.
The syndicate allegedly stole ATM cards and posed as law enforcers to harass and deceive their elder victims into surrendering bank cards and other banking information under the pretext of a police investigation.
A court in Fukuoka, Japan issued arrest warrants against six of them last March 5 due to charges of theft that were filed against them.