Bureau of Immigration deports American fugitives

MANILA, Philippines - Two American fugitives, wanted for drug trafficking and an P18-million dollar bank fraud, will be returned to the United States to face trial, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) said yesterday.

The BI said in a statement that they have already sent back 40-year-old Kevin Mitchel Gore to the US where an $18-million bank fraud case is waiting for him in Illinois.

Rizal Balgos, 60, suspected of drug trafficking, is set to be deported in the next few days.

Gore was deported last Thursday via Continental Airlines to Guam where he was fetched and escorted by US marshals.

BI spokesman Attorney Floro Balato Jr., said both Gore and Balgos have been classified as undocumented aliens after the US government canceled their passports.

The bureau’s records showed that Balgos is wanted for alleged narcotics trafficking and, a Hawaii court issued a warrant of arrest against him in 2007. He was implicated in a corruption case involving officers of the Kauai Police Department, who reportedly protected and conspired with him in his drug-dealing activities. 

Just before the warrant was served, Balgos fled to the Philippines in August 2006. The BI also learned that he is an overstaying alien because he arrived in the country last Aug. 20 but no longer filed a request to extend his stay.

Last March 6, he was arrested by agents of the BI Law Enforcement Division at his house in Bambang, Nueva Vizcaya.

Meanwhile, a US district court in Illinois is waiting for Gore. The US embassy said Gore conspired with a Taiwanese business partner in reporting inflated accounts receivable to the Fifth Third Bank that enabled them to draw millions of dollars on their credit line from the bank.

But when Gore realized the authorities discovered the scam, he and his accomplice left the US.

Upon his arrival at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport from Hong Kong last Feb. 26, the BI apprehended him.

BI Associate Commissioner Roy Almoro said the board of commissioners ordered that Balgos and Gore be placed in the BI blacklist to prevent them from returning to the country.