A Korean national wanted for phishing – use of fraudulent phone calls to trick people into giving money or revealing personal information – in his country was arrested in the Philippines, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) said on Monday.

BI Commissioner Jaime Morente said the BI’s fugitive search unit (FSU) arrested Park Voram, 39, at a hotel in Mandaluyong City on Aug. 25.

Park, who is an undocumented alien, is wanted for fraud in violation of Article 347-(1) of the Criminal Act of Korea.

“The arrest of these fugitives show that despite the pandemic, we are serious in our drive to locate, arrest, and deport these illegal aliens,” Morente said in a statement. “We will not allow these undesirable aliens to hide here to avoid facing responsibility for their crimes.”

Morente said the operation was coordinated with both local and Korean authorities.

FSU chief Rendel Sy said they received information from South Korea of the fugitive’s standing arrest warrant issued by the Gwangju District Court.

Park is reportedly a member of a large-scale voice phishing organization who deceived thousands of victims by pretending to be a loan officer in a financial institution.

Damages attributed to him amount to over 4 billion Korean won or more than PHP171 million.

He will be temporarily detained at the BI’s Warden Facility in Bicutan, Taguig pending his deportation.