MANILA, Philippines — The Bureau of Immigration (BI) has arrested five foreign fugitives in the country who are wanted for several cases in their home countries.

Immigration Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado reported the arrests Thursday, which included an American, a Chinese, a Taiwanese, and two Koreans, in separate operations conducted by the BI’s Fugitive Search Unit. 

The individuals will be deported for being “undesirable aliens” and blacklisted to prevent them from returning to the Philippines.

The first arrest occurred on December 2 in Kabankalan City, Negros Oriental, where BI operatives apprehended Paul Raymond Ross, a 66-year-old American wanted in Pennsylvania for extortion and harassment. 

Ross previously pleaded guilty in 2008 to charges of threatening communications and served 27 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.

Two South Korean fugitives, Jung Yunjae, 26, and Jeon Hyeonuk, 41, were arrested on December 3 in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu. 

Both are accused of luring a victim to Cambodia to participate in indecent advertisements, a crime for which they face kidnapping charges in South Korea, the officials said.

Chinese national Ji Shunchao, 64, was taken into custody on December 6. Authorities in China accuse Ji of committing tax fraud by using counterfeit documents to claim export tax refunds amounting to almost 14 million renminbi, equivalent to around $2 million.

The final arrest occurred on December 8 in Pasay City, where Taiwanese national Ye Tian Hao, 32, was detained. He is wanted in Taiwan for fraud and faces an outstanding warrant of arrest issued by the district prosecutor in Taichung.

All five fugitives are being held at the BI Warden Facility in Camp Bagong Diwa, Taguig City, as they await deportation.