Stressing that the Philippines is not a sanctuary for foreign fugitives, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) scored anew in its campaign against lawless elements with the arrest of an American who is wanted for possessing and selling illegal drugs in the United States.

Arrested on the strength of a mission order issued by Immigration Commissioner Nonoy Libanan was James Ricky Perry, 50.

Members of the BI law enforcement division arrested the American, who uses various aliases to hide his identity, on Wednesday night at his residence in Calatagan, Batangas.

According to lawyer Floro Balato Jr., BI-Interpol chief, Perry is wanted to stand trial before a US district court in North Carolina which issued a warrant for his arrest on narcotics charges.

Perry was reportedly charged in July 2005 with two counts of conspiracy to distribute five kilos of cocaine and possession of 500 grams of the same drug with intent to distribute them.

Balato said the American will be deported for being an undesirable, undocumented and overstaying alien, adding that the latter’s passport was already canceled by the US embassy.

Libanan hailed the American’s arrest as another big accomplishment for the BI-Interpol unit which was created barely two weeks ago.

He said with the BI’s successive arrests of foreign fugitives in the past several weeks, the bureau is serving notice to other wanted foreigners that the Philippines has ceased to be a safe haven for them.