Another Japanese "Luffy" gang member was arrested by Philippine authorities in Las Pinas City on Tuesday, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) said Wednesday.

Immigration Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado identified the Japanese fugitive as Takuya Hoshino, 23, who was charged with theft in violation of the Japanese penal code and has an outstanding arrest warrant issued by the Tokyo Summary Court on Sept. 15, 2022.

Viado said Hoshino was arrested by the BI’s Fugitive Search Unit (FSU) inside his residence along Casimiro Avenue, Bernice Subdivision, Las Pinas City on Tuesday afternoon.

Viado said Hoshino is the latest “Luffy” gang member arrested by the bureau since 2023 when their presence in the country was reported by the Japanese government.

FSU chief Rendel Ryan Sy said Hoshino and his cohorts stole ATM cards, preying on unsuspecting elderly victims by impersonating law enforcement officers.

Sy said the members of the Luffy group "staged fake police investigations to dupe their victims into surrendering their bank cards."

He noted that "over 20 million yen, or more than $141,000, in cash were reportedly siphoned off by the suspects through unauthorized withdrawals from the stolen cards".

The travel record showed that Hoshino overstayed in the country for more than five years as his last arrival here was recorded on Oct. 30, 2019.

Viado said the arrest of Hoshino is "a clear demonstration that under the Bagong Pilipinas agenda, lawbreakers ? foreign or local ? will not find refuge in our country."

“Like his colleagues in the syndicate whom we have earlier arrested, he, too, will be deported, blacklisted, and banned from re-entering the Philippines,” Viado said. Robina Asido/DMS