Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 7) — Following the extradition of two suspects in the “Luffy” robberies in Japan, the two other accused Japanese nationals — including the purported mastermind — were also cleared for deportation, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Tuesday.
The development came as a Pasay City court dismissed the cases filed against Yuki Watanabe and Tomonubu Saito for alleged violence against women.
While the clerk of court Atty. Maria Abigail Aguba-Dospueblos said the complainant’s lawyer intends to appeal the ruling, DOJ Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said Watanabe and Saito will already be deported on Wednesday.
Japanese media reports identified Watanabe as the alleged ringleader of a group that carried out a string of robberies in Japan. One resulted in the murder of a 90-year-old woman.
On the same morning that the Pasay court handed down its verdict, two other suspects — Fujita Toshiya and Imamura Kiyoto — boarded a plane that departed Manila at around 9:40 a.m. for their own deportation.
They were escorted by Japanese police who arrived in the country on Monday night.
Remulla earlier explained that in order to send the four suspects back to Japan, the pending cases against them in the Philippines would have to be dismissed.
All four faced one criminal case each for violence against women in the Philippines. Toshiya was also sued for estafa and light threats.
Last week, Remulla said the cases against them in the country may have been “contrived” to avoid their deportation to Japan, where they have been charged with robbery, fraud, and theft.
The DOJ said the four have been identified by Japanese authorities as leaders of a criminal organization in their home country and have been tagged as fugitives from justice.
\”Today is historical in some ways as these four fugitives have been the subjects of warrants of arrest as well as deportation requests since 2019,” the department wrote in a statement.
The day of Watanabe and Saito’s deportation will coincide with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s flight to Japan for a state visit.
READ: What to expect in Marcos’ Japan visit
Remulla earlier told the media that they target to deport all four suspects before Marcos’ trip.
