AN overstaying Japanese said to have duped around 50 Filipino women whom he offered marriage and high-paying jobs in Japan through the popular social networking site Facebook was arrested by agents of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group in an entrapment in Sta. Mesa, Manila Wednesday night.

Takahiro Yamashita, 41, of Komamoto, Japan, is now undergoing investigation at the CIDG headquarters in Camp Crame where dozens of his victims surfaced to file charges against him, said CIDG director Chief Supt. Samuel D. Pagdilao, Jr.

Pagdilao said Yamashita was collared by members of the CIDG Women and Children Protection Division and Task Force Maverick in a sting inside the Inasal restaurant at SM Centerpoint. The suspect, who arrived in Manila on June 1998, yielded different passports and travel documents and clearances by his victims.

The Japanese was accused of duping Filipino women and their families of their hard-earned money after promising to marry them and send them to Japan.

“We discovered that this foreigner chose his victims on Facebook. He really targeted Filipinas who are looking for foreign jobs, even foreign husbands,” Pagdilao said.

Yamashita’s modus operandi is to tell his target that he had just arrived in the country and needs some money because he lost his passport and other travel documents.

The Japanese, who is conversant in the Visayan and Tagalog dialect, would then ask his victims and their relatives for monetary help, and in some instances, free board and lodging.

As soon as he got money from one victim, he would  find another target, Libunao said. “In some occasions, he simply disappeared after meeting the parents of his target and telling them he wants to marry their daughter. As soon as he got their money, he is gone,” she said.

Yamashita’s arrest prompted the CIDG to warn the public, particularly women, to be careful in dealing with their Facebook friends specifically those who want to establish intimate relationship with them.

“Better watch out for strangers using Facebook. They could be wolf in a sheep’s clothing,” Pagdilao said.

The Japanese is facing charges of estafa and large-scale illegal recruitment.