A relatively still-popular president of a prominent Southeast Asian nation is now facing international criminal charges related to alleged crimes including murder and violations of basic human rights for thousands of victims that transpired as part of a violent campaign against the illicit drug trade.

Former Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte was served on Tuesday with an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court and taken into custody by Interpol agents, Reuters reported.

The shocking detainment of the former president occurred at the airport in Manila as he deplaned following his return from an overseas trip.

Duterte now in ICC's custody

According to CNN, the arrested Duterte was flown on Tuesday night from Manila in the Philippines to The Hague in the Netherlands, the site of the ICC, where the former president arrived on Wednesday following a brief stopover in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates to receive unspecified medical treatment.

The arrest was denounced as "oppression and persecution" by Duterte's family and sparked angry protests in the streets from his fervent supporters.

However, his detainment was cheered by those who've accused him of murder and violating human rights, and the outlet noted that his former political ally turned rival, current President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., aided the serving of the arrest warrant and said in a statement, "Interpol asked for help and we obliged because we have commitments to the Interpol which we have to fulfill."

Allegedly responsible for thousands of murders and "crimes against humanity"

The Washington Post reported that Duterte, who first served as mayor of Davao City for several decades before he was elected president in 2016, waged a brutal and violent campaign to eradicate illicit drugs in the Philippines by ruthlessly targeting drug traffickers, dealers, and even addicts.

In fact, he explicitly ran for the presidency on a promise to nationalize his zero-tolerance policies as mayor, and he has been unapologetic over the years about the grim realities of those policies.

He stands accused of essentially ordering police to adopt a "shoot first, ask questions later" policy when encountering individuals suspected of involvement in the drug trade and of presiding over an untold number of extrajudicial killings and imprisonments, and is now charged with committing murder and "crimes against humanity."

Per official estimates from Filipino authorities, slightly more than 6,200 people were killed by the police during Duterte's crackdown on drugs during his presidency, but some human rights groups suggest the death toll attributed to the former president could be as high as around 30,000.

The many complaints against Duterte from victims' families, activist groups, and even foreign nations eventually prompted the ICC to open an investigation in 2018, and it is unclear how long ago the arrest warrant was issued before he was finally taken into custody this week.

Arrest and prosecution could end Duterte family's "political dynasty"

Time Magazine reported that Duterte's arrest marks a "day of reckoning" for not just him but also his politically active family and his legion of supporters who continue to view him positively despite, or perhaps because of, the criminal allegations against him.

Some experts believe that Duterte facing justice at the ICC will serve as the "beginning of the end of the Duterte political dynasty," in that it will end his bid to be re-elected as the mayor of Davao again and will likely prompt his political opponents to follow through on an impeachment of his eldest daughter, Sara Duterte-Carpio, who was elected vice president alongside President Marcos Jr. in 2022 but has since turned on him and called publicly for his assassination.

Of course, that all depends upon how things play out at the ICC, and according to The Post, it could be anywhere from a few days to several months before Duterte even receives an initial hearing on the charges against him, with a trial potentially taking years to complete.