MANILA, Philippines – A suspected former member of the Japanese Yakuza crime syndicate was arrested in the Philippines recently.
Eiichi Sugimoto, 49, was arrested by agents from the Bureau of Immigration (BI) and is now detained ay the immigration jail in Bicutan, Taguig City.
BI Officer-In-Charge Ronaldo Ledesma said the BI board of commissioners ordered Sugimoto’s deportation for being an overstaying, undocumented and undesirable alien.
The Japanese is the subject of an arrest warrant issued by a summary court in Tokyo in connection with a fraud case he allegedly committed in March 2009.
The Japanese Embassy in Manila sought the BI’s help to locate Sugimoto upon learning that the fugitive entered the country and had been staying here since January this year.
According to lawyer Faizal Hussin, BI intelligence chief, Sugimoto defrauded two compatriots of more than 25 million yen through a fraudulent investment scheme, telling the victims that he would invest the money in a restaurant and duty-free shop business near the Mactan airport in Cebu.
“After getting the money, he flew to the Philippines and never returned to Japan,” Hussin said.
A report from the Japanese Embassy revealed that Sugimoto is a former member of the Sumiyoshi-kai Kohei family of the Yakuza group. - By Rudy Santos
