Indonesian authorities arrested Filipino fugitive Hector Aldwin Pantollana at Bali’s international airport, where biometric screening identified the man accused of orchestrating a $67.7 million investment scam in the Philippines, officials said Tuesday.
Pantollana, 35, a casino junket operator, was detained November 9 at I Gusti Ngurah Rai international airport after an automatic immigration gate flagged him through biometric data, according to Saffar M. Godam, acting Director General of immigration at Indonesia’s Immigration and Correctional Ministry.
The arrest followed an Interpol Red Notice issued October 31, seeking his worldwide detention. Pantollana had initially entered Bali on October 10. Indonesian authorities transferred him to Jakarta for investigation and plan to deport him to the Philippines Wednesday.
National Central Bureau Interpol chief Untung Widyatmoko said Philippine police named Pantollana as a suspect after he allegedly collected more than 4 billion Philippine pesos from thousands of victims through fraudulent investments. “This collaboration aims to make the ASEAN region an area free from transnational crime and criminal hiding,” Widyatmoko said.
The arrest continues Indonesia’s recent string of high-profile fugitive captures. Last month, Bali immigration officers arrested a Chinese suspect wanted for operating $14 billion worth of investment scams. In September, authorities caught Alice Guo, a former Philippine mayor accused of ties to Chinese criminal syndicates. June saw the arrest of Chaowalit Thongduang, one of Thailand’s most wanted fugitives, linked to multiple killings and drug trafficking.
Indonesia’s location between Asia and the South Pacific, combined with its multicultural society, makes it an attractive haven for local, regional, and global organized crime, officials noted.
apnews.com
