ONE of the United Kingdom’s top 10 most wanted swindlers being sought by the British authorities was arrested by immigration agents in Pampanga province.
Nabbed was Adam James Stagg at his home along Yellow Papua St., Don Bosco Compound, Mabalacat City, Pampanga.
Stagg has been hiding in the country for more than five years.
Bureau of Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente said Stagg, who is listed no. 7 in the UK’s 10 most wanted list of criminal fraudsters, will be deported as soon as the BI board of commissioners issues the order for his summary deportation.
“Like all other foreign fugitives that we have arrested, this Briton will be expelled and sent back to his country to stand trial for his crimes,” said Morente.
Stagg, who hails from Bristol, is wanted by both the Avon and Somerset police for the offense of fraud by false representation.
British authorities have long suspected that Stagg had been living a luxury in Philippines after engaging in the fraudulent online sale of watches from October 2013 to June 2014.
He is said to have profited by as much as £20,000 from the racket wherein victims were duped into paying for designer watches they never received.
Police alleged that Stagg had set up a number of companies in the Philippines that sold watches to UK customers at prices that cost more than £100.
The victims, numbering to some 140, reportedly paid money into various bank accounts belonging to Stagg’s associates who then sent the money to him in the Philippines.
However, none of his victims ever received a watch and some even reported to police that they were threatened when they tried to find out why they didn’t get what they bought.