Philippines, Tokyo working out details for deportation of four Japanese suspects

TOKYO MANILA Kyodo Tokyo and Manila are working out details for the deportation of four Japanese believed to be behind a string of robberies across Japan, according to investigative sources.

The Japanese police have been requesting the transfer of the suspects from Manila, where they are being held. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is scheduled to visit Japan on Wednesday, and the Philippine justice minister has expressed hope to resolve the matter.

Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla has also told reporters that the Philippines is trying to deport all four suspects together.

The Philippines is seeking the dismissal of local criminal charges against some of the four men. The swift transfer of the suspects to Japan has been complicated by the pending charges.

On Thursday, a court hearing was held in Manila to discuss whether the charges should be dropped following a motion by the Justice DepartmentJustice Department.

A lawyer for the suspects said that the hearings would be held on Tuesday.

The four suspects are likely to have included a person or persons thought to have masterminded the robberies under the names Luffy and Kim. They are suspected of orchestrating a series of robberies in Japan that began last year, remotely coordinating the operation from the immigration facility using an encrypted messaging app.

Japan sought their transfer after police obtained arrest warrants on suspicion of theft in connection with a scam targeting elderly people in Japan.

According to police, Yuki Watanabe was accused of being one of the leaders of the fraud group, which stole about 3.5 billion yen $27 million in around 2,300 cases between November 2018 and June 2020.