The Bureau of Immigration (BI) launched an intensified nationwide manhunt for two South Korean fugitives who escaped from detention while facing deportation proceedings.
In a statement, BI Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado identified the escapees as Lee Jingyu, 32, and Yang Heejun, 44, both foreign nationals wanted by South Korean authorities.
“The Bureau is working in close coordination with law enforcement agencies to track the fugitives’ possible movements and ensure their swift recovery. The BI is treating the operation as a priority due to the serious offenses attributed to the subjects,” Viado said.
The escape was discovered during a routine inspection by custodial force personnel at the BI Warden’s Facility (BIWF) in Muntinlupa City, where a rope was found tied to the rear portion of a ward gate.
A subsequent headcount and inspection revealed that Lee and Yang were missing, prompting authorities to place the facility under total lockdown and conduct a comprehensive search of the perimeter.
Lee was arrested by the BI Fugitive Search Unit in Pasay City on November 17. He is the subject of an Interpol Red Notice and is wanted in South Korea for drug smuggling. Authorities said he allegedly orchestrated the trafficking of around three kilograms of methamphetamine in multiple incidents in early 2024 and has prior convictions, including aggravated assault. He also faces BI charges for being an undesirable and overstaying alien.
Yang, meanwhile, was arrested by BI operatives in Angeles City, Pampanga in 2022. He is also the subject of an Interpol Red Notice and is wanted in South Korea for burglary, theft, and related offenses. He faces deportation charges for being an undesirable and undocumented alien and was detained at the BIWF pending the resolution of his case. Yang was previously implicated in an attempted drug smuggling incident inside the detention facility in 2022.
The BI reiterated that both fugitives pose a serious risk to public safety and assured the public that efforts to locate and apprehend them remain ongoing and intensified.
