Philippines arrests two Japanese fugitives linked to 'Luffy' group, fraud syndicate 

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April 17, 2026 | 3:42pm

MANILA, Philippines — Law enforcement authorities arrested two Japanese nationals wanted in Japan on Thursday, April 16, in coordinated operations across Metro Manila targeting members of two of the country's most notorious transnational crime groups.

A Japanese national identified as Sato Taiki was arrested in Mandaluyong City yesterday at around 5 p.m. An hour later, Masayuki Aoyagi, 52, was arrested in Manila. Both hold outstanding warrants in Japan and have been classified as undesirable aliens, or foreigners deemed threats to public safety and national security.

The Bureau of Immigration's (BI) unit for locating fugitives carried out the operations with the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission, the PNP Intelligence Group, and military support units, acting on intelligence shared by the Japanese government.

"Let me be clear, this was not by chance," Benjamin Acorda, executive director of the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission, said in a press briefing today. "These arrests are the direct result of sustained intelligence sharing, close coordination, and strong partnership between the Philippines and our international allies."

Who is Sato Taiki?

Sato is identified as a member of the Luffy Group — a criminal group responsible for more than 50 robberies across 14 Japanese prefectures between 2021 and 2023. 

The group takes its name from the manga character One Piece's Luffy, the alias used by alleged mastermind Kiyoto Imamura, who directed heists remotely from the Philippines. 

Recruits were often lured through social media with offers of part-time jobs promising quick cash.

The group's most infamous crime was a January 2023 home invasion in Tokyo. Intruders posing as delivery workers broke in and beat a 90-year-old to death and stole luxury watches. Two group members have since received life sentences in Japanese courts for that killing. 

Four Luffy ringleaders, including Imamura, were deported from the Philippines to Japan in early 2023. Several other members have been arrested since 2019. 

Who is Masayuki Aoyagi?

Aoyagi is linked to the JP Dragon Syndicate. The Bureau of Immigration describes them as a syndicate "involved in a range of illegal activities, mostly fraud, targeting senior citizens in Japan" and that "their modus is to impersonate authorities to deceive victims into giving large sums of money."

Where they are now. Both men are being held at the BI Warden Facility while deportation proceedings are coordinated with Japanese authorities.

"Both individuals are wanted in Japan and will undergo proper legal processes for their deportation and prosecution," Acorda said.

BI Deputy Spokesperson Melvin Mabulac said the bureau "acknowledges the critical assistance of the Japanese government, whose information sharing and cooperation were instrumental in the successful apprehension of these fugitives."

Part of a wider crackdown

Yesterday's arrests are the latest in a string of operations against Japanese crime syndicates operating out of the Philippines.

Over a week ago, on April 7, the BI deported five Japanese nationals tied to a breakaway JP Dragon faction. All five were blacklisted from re-entering the country.

In June 2025, authorities arrested JP Dragon's alleged boss, Ryuji Yoshioka.