Crime & Courts

2 Robbery Ring Suspects Arrested Aboard Plane During Extradition from Philippines to Japan

Courtesy of the Philippine Justice Department
Toshiya Fujita, left, and Kiyoto Imamura await extradition to Japan in the Philippines.

By Sho Komine and Shinsuke Yasuda / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writers

12:57 JST, February 7, 2023

MANILA — Metropolitan Police Department officers have executed arrest warrants for two Japanese men suspected of involvement in a recent string of robberies in Japan, with the arrest officially taking place aboard a deportation flight to Narita Airport from the Philippines, which had transferred the men to Japanese custody.

The Yomiuri Shimbun
Toshiya Fujita is seen being deported in Manila on Tuesday. (A portion of the image has been obscured.)

The warrants are for suspected theft as part of an earlier fraud case in which the two are also suspects.

The two suspects, Kiyoto Imamura and Toshiya Fujita, both 38, had been detained at an immigration facility in the Philippines and are expected to arrive in Japan on Tuesday afternoon.

Philippine authorities transported them from the Bicutan detention center in a Manila suburb at about 8:30 a.m., entering Ninoy Aquino International Airport about 30 minutes later. Both men wore T-shirts and short pants. The flight carrying them departed at about 11 a.m.

Two more Japanese suspects in the case are still in Philippine custody.