MANILA: Thirty-six Japanese men have been detained in Manila over an alleged phone scam targeting people in Japan, Philippine immigration sources said on Thursday.
Based on information from Japanese investigators, the immigration bureau detained the men at a hotel in Manila on Wednesday afternoon and transferred them to detention facilities, the sources said.
The group is believed to have operated from multiple locations in the Philippines, the sources said.
Four Japanese suspected of involvement in the scam were earlier arrested by Tokyo police after returning to Japan, according to Japanese investigation sources.
In a separate case, Japanese police arrested 15 Japanese in March for alleged involvement in a phone scam targeting people across Japan that operated out of a rented luxury house in Bang Lamung district of Chon Buri province near Pattaya.