As part of its #Shieldkids campaign to fight crimes against children, two foreign nationals involved in child exploitation cases were apprehended in two separate operations by the Bureau of Immigration – Fugitive Search Unit (BI-FSU).
The agency reported that the first suspect, 43-year-old Yuto Konno, was apprehended in Cavite last May 12, 2026 by BI-FSU operatives in coordination with Japan’s National Police Agency and the Philippine National Police-Intelligence Group (PNP-IG). Immigration records revealed that the Japanese national arrived in the Philippines in 2019 as a temporary visitor and has overstayed since April 2022. He has an active blacklist and watchlist orders for undesirability and overstaying.
Records showed that Konno is wanted by Japanese authorities for forcible sexual intercourse and forcible indecency with a child. Then, in 2018, he allegedly molested three minors inside a restroom facility in Hokkaido, Japan, and a warrant for his arrest was issued by the Nagoya Summary Court on August 16, 2024.
The second suspect, American national Tony Le, was apprehended on May 13, 2026, in Bamban, Tarlac by BI-FSU agents in coordination with US authorities, PNP-Intelligence Group, and other law enforcement units. The suspect is reportedly wanted in violation of US federal laws involving child sexual exploitation materials and for charges related to enticing and coercing a minor to engage in sexual activity.
BI officers said Le had previously been excluded from entering the country in February 2024 due to derogatory records connected to possible child sex exploitation investigations and believed to have entered the Philippines illegally.
“The Bureau remains steadfast in its commitment to assist international law enforcement agencies in tracking down foreign nationals involved in crimes against children,” BI Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado said, adding that both fugitives are currently under the custody of the agency’s Warden Facility in Muntinlupa City pending deportation proceedings.