More than 10 Japanese police officers have left for Manila. They are hoping to bring back four men suspected of remotely orchestrating a series of robberies in Japan. But it is not clear yet how many will be deported.

The suspects are currently being held at an immigration facility. Japanese police have obtained arrest warrants against them for fraud.

Unrelated criminal trials are blocking the extradition of two of them. Watanabe Yuki and Kojima Tomonobu are accused of committing violence against women. Officials in Manila suspect those accusations were made up to avoid deportation.

A local court heard the cases on Monday. Court sources say a decision on whether to dismiss the cases is expected as early as Tuesday.

Philippine Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said, "Two are sure to be deported tomorrow but, hopefully, we can deport everyone by tomorrow."

Officials want to hand over the suspects before Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. begins his visit to Japan on Wednesday.

Japanese police say the string of recent robberies happened in Tokyo and other parts of the country and left one person dead. The criminal ring allegedly recruited people through social media and provided instructions through chat apps using aliases.