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How Japanese and Korean kingpins are running international gangs from inside Philippine prisons

Armed with a smartphone, a new breed of remote criminal operates from Southeast Asia’s prisons.

Published: 9:00am, 10 May 2026Updated: 3:53pm, 11 May 2026

From prisons and detention centres in Manila, organised criminals are targeting South Korea and Japan with a new kind of cybercrime – one that orchestrates home invasions, robberies and drug trafficking from more than 2,000km (1,242miles) away.

How Japanese and Korean kingpins are running international gangs from inside Philippine prisons

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Armed with a smartphone, a new breed of remote criminal operates from Southeast Asia’s prisons.

Armed with a smartphone, a new breed of remote criminal operates from Southeast Asia’s prisons.