MANILA – The Bureau of Immigration (BI) has deported six Japanese nationals identified as members of the notorious “JP Dragon” crime syndicate, following President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s directive to intensify the campaign against transnational criminals.

BI deportation and implementation unit chief Atty. Alex Arciaga said Hiraki Ishikawa, 46; Tsubasa Amano, 30; Akira Sambonchiku, 26; Naoto Matsumoto, 36; Rintaro Yamane, 28; and Masato Morihiro, 38, were flown out via Japan Airlines to Tokyo on September 10 from Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1.

The six were arrested on May 21 by BI’s fugitive search unit in separate operations in San Jose del Monte, Bulacan, and Ermita, Manila. Japanese authorities had tagged them as members of JP Dragon, a syndicate wanted in Japan for large-scale fraud, particularly scams that targeted elderly victims. Their modus reportedly involved impersonating law enforcers, stealing ATM cards, and coercing seniors into surrendering cash or bank details under the guise of police investigations.

A summary court in Fukuoka, Japan had issued arrest warrants against five of them last March for theft, while Matsumoto was found to be overstaying in the Philippines.

BI Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado said the deportation effectively dismantled the group’s operations in the country. “The collapse of their fraud operations in the Philippines shows that we will not tolerate foreign syndicates that exploit our people and undermine our laws,” he said.

The six have been placed on the BI’s blacklist, permanently barring their return to the Philippines.