2 of 4 Philippine suspects deported to Japan

Two of four suspects who were suspected of orchestrating a recent string of robberies were deported to Japan from the Philippines on Tuesday.

The two were arrested in the Philippines. They are suspected of having hired the perpetrators of the robberies online.

The Philippine authorities were quick to transfer two suspects, despite the fact that not all four were deported. They took only about a week from a renewed demand for action by the Japanese authorities. The Japanese police are going to start a full-fledged investigation into the robberies.

The two deported on Tuesday were Kiyoto Imamura, 38, and Toshiya Fujita, 38.

The two remaining individuals in the Philippines, Yuki Watanabe, 38, and Tomonobu Kojima, 45, will be deported and handed over to Japanese police as early as Wednesday.

The Metropolitan Police Department received arrest warrants for four of the four between 2019 and 2021, alleging they were involved in a special fraud case.

The Japanese authorities had asked their Philippine counterparts to hand over the four, but the Philippine side had not acted on the request due to ongoing criminal trials for the four within the country.

During an investigation of the robberies, Japanese police found that a person calling themselves Luffy had probably instructed the robbers on how to commit the crimes in Japan from an immigration detention facility in the Philippines.

On January 30th, the Japanese side requested the Philippine authorities to deport and hand over the four. The Philippine side made an about-face.

The current deportations took only about a week to complete, despite the fact that the process usually takes several weeks.

The quick turnaround is due to diplomatic concerns ahead of a visit by Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to Japan, scheduled for Wednesday.