“I’m Korean” ... No. 2 in Japanese crime syndicate caught in the Philippines, ‘posed as Korean’ when apprehended

[Financial News] The No. 2 in a Japanese criminal organization that had been carrying out special fraud from the Philippines, targeting elderly people and others in Japan, was arrested there. The man reportedly pretended to be Korean when he was arrested.
According to Kyodo News on the 2nd, the Philippine Bureau of Immigration and other agencies apprehended A, a man in his 50s and a member of ‘JP Dragon,’ a Japanese criminal organization affiliated with an organized crime group. A is believed to have been the group’s second-in-command after its leader, who was arrested last year.
Japanese police believe that JP Dragon operated from the Philippines, calling elderly people and others in Japan while impersonating police officers and extorting money from them. The losses are believed to have exceeded 900 million yen (about 7.6 billion won).
After receiving information that A was hiding in the Philippines, authorities there had been tracking his whereabouts in coordination with their Japanese counterparts. They then took him into custody on the 31st of last month as he was traveling by bus on Luzon, in the northern Philippines.
A reportedly claimed at the time of his arrest that he was another person who was a Korean national. He was also carrying a driver’s license and other items apparently obtained while impersonating someone else.
However, the mugshot released by Philippine authorities after the arrest listed A’s nationality as ‘Japan.’
Philippine authorities plan to repatriate A to Japan soon.
[email protected] Seong Min-seo Reporter