Photo/Illutration Jesus Remulla, justice secretary of the Philippines, speaks at a news conference in Manila on Jan. 30. (Toshiya Obu)

MANILA--The Japanese Embassy here said it formally asked the Philippines to deport four Japanese individuals believed to have orchestrated fraud scams and violent robberies against victims in their home country.

The request was made at a meeting on the evening of Jan. 30 with Justice Secretary Jesus Remulla, who said Manila will respond promptly and carry out the necessary procedures, according to the embassy.

Remulla said earlier that in recent cases, it has generally taken 12 to 14 days to complete procedures to deport individuals.

The four Japanese are currently being held at an immigration detention center in the country.

Japanese police believe the four were involved in a fraud ring in Japan and were also behind a series of robberies committed in the Kanto region and other areas of the country.

One of the four detained individuals in the Philippines used the name “Luffy” and gave instructions through a mobile phone to robbers in Japan, police said.

A 90-year-old woman in Komae, Tokyo, was killed in one of the home invasions that has been connected to Luffy, they said.

Tokyo’s Metropolitan Police Department on Jan. 31 said the real names of the four are: Yuki Watanabe, 38; Tomonobu Kojima, 45; Toshiya Fujita, 38; and Kiyoto Imamura, 38.

Since 2019, Japan has repeatedly asked the Philippines to repatriate the four individuals.

The Metropolitan Police Department has obtained arrest warrants for the four on suspicion of theft and other charges related to the fraud schemes.

The fraud group is believed to have used bases in the Philippines to phone mainly elderly people in Japan and con them into revealing information about their bank cards and accounts.

Around 3.5 billion yen ($27 million) was stolen in around 2,300 scams from December 2017 to November 2019, police said.

Police had estimated the figure at “more than 1.5 billion yen” in February 2020, but they have since found more victims.

A source familiar with the Manila detainment center where Luffy is being held said officials there can be bribed into providing their mobile phones and WiFi access to well-off detainees.

Before the meeting with Japanese Embassy staff, Remulla told reporters on the morning of Jan. 30 that officials have confiscated mobile phones from Japanese nationals held at the immigration detention center.

Seventeen Japanese people are currently detained at the center. Remulla said some of them are fugitives with criminal records.

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