PHILIPPINES (TR) – Authorities here have apprehended another male Japanese national who is suspected member of the so-called “Luffy” fraud ring.
The arrest of Eiji Shigematsu, 43, is third made by authorities in the capital Manila this year, reports Fuji News Network (Feb. 8).
On January 7, Philippine authorities apprehended Sasaki in Makati City, near the capital Manila.
The Luffy group is named after the popular manga for boys. It specializes in tokushu sagi, which is a type of fraud carried out on the telephone by a caller impersonating an authority figure or a victim’s relative.
Police had been searching for Shigematsu after an arrest warrant was issued for him by a court in Kagoshima Prefecture in July last year on suspicion of theft.
Shigematsu is alleged to have of made phone calls while posing as a police officer and defrauding money.
On January 20, authorities announced the apprehension of Yuhei Tsukuda, 28, in Pampanga province. He is also a suspected member of Luffy. Later that month, they arrested 43-year-old Takashi Sasaki, another suspected Luffy member.
Shigematsu is expected to be deported to Japan at some point in the future.
