THE Justice Department will deport a Japanese mafia “big boss” tomorrow, February 8, just hours after President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. flies to Tokyo for a four-day working visit. 

The Japanese government has requested the deportation of Yuki Watanabe, 38, a fugitive from justice in Japan, to face charges related to the series of break-ins in Japan.

Press from Japan have reported that Watanabe could give orders remotely from inside the Taguig detention center. Hiding behind the the codename “Luffy” of a famous manga and anime character, he was able to issue orders from the highly encrypted social messaging app Telegram. 

2 Japanese fugitives deported today

The Bureau of Immigration has already deported two other Japanese fugitives today, February 7.

Kiyoto Imamura, 38, and Toshiya Fujita, 38, boarded Japan Airlines flight JL 746 around 9:40 am.

Aside from Watanabe, the BI is expected to hand over to Japanese authorities tomorrow another fugitive, Tomonobu Kojima (Saito), 45.

Imamura, Fujita and Kojima are also suspected to be members of Luffy’s criminal ring, .

The DOJ rushed the resolution of the cases of the four fugitives to close this issue before President Marcos Jr. meets Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Emperor Naruhito this week.

Remulla received a request from the Japanese government for the suspects’ expulsion only last week.

Who is Luffy

Watanabe and his cohorts allegedly planned the spate of burglaries mainly targeting older adults across Japan since last year. 

The multiple break-ins, including the murder of a 90-year woman last month, shocked Japan–a nation famed for a low crime rate.

However, the suspects, locked up inside an immigration facility in Taguig, could not be immediately deported.

They still need to face criminal charges filed against them.

Huli-me scam

As DOJ took over the deportation proceedings, they discovered something fishy was brewing in the judicial system.

A total of 8 to 10 cases have been filed against the four suspects in various courts in the country, according to Remulla.

It appears there is a “pattern whenever a foreign national such as the Japanese are facing summary deportation order.”

All four also have a similar case of violating R.A 9262, or an act defining violence against women and children. Those pending cases became a legal remedy for them to remain in the country, albeit temporarily.

Remulla scored the suspects’ counsels for their tactics of filing fake cases to hold off the deportation.

Marathon hearings

Government prosecutors have initially asked the court to drop the charges against Watanabe and Kojima, saying they were fabricated and really meant to delay the suspects’ deportation.

The Pasay court, however, allowed the complainants to present evidence against Watanabe and Kojima during last Thursday’s hearing. The DOJ filed another motion to dismiss the case,. The Pasay court then agreed and issued the removal order.

‘Heads will roll in BI’

Remulla has vowed that heads will roll in the immigration bureau after the deportation of all the suspects.

They found out that some erring detention personnel have allowed the suspects to use mobile phones in exchange for hefty amounts of cash.

A raid of the immigration facility in Taguig last January 30 yielded contraband, including several cell phones seized from the Japanese detainees.

The communication devices will also be brought to Japan as part of the pieces of evidence against the suspects, officials said.

At least 36 immigration personnel have been ordered dismissed following the surprise inspection.

Remulla also promised to go after the unscrupulous lawyers for upending the legal process.