The Philippine National Police (PNP) is looking into the alleged kidnapping of at least 15 wealthy Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) officials since 2013, its chief Gen. Oscar Albayalde said.
Albayalde said some victims do not report the alleged kidnappings to police since they do not know the identities of the perpetrators.
Some are afraid of retaliation from the kidnappers or being discovered for hidden wealth. Many of the victims allegedly had cash in their houses and paid the ransom from the stash, hence, there were no records.
Albayalde said the PNP has created teams to investigate the alleged abductions in the National
Capital Region where most incidents happened.
Cops raid kidnap safe houses used to hold Chinese gamblers
Philippine National Police Anti- Kidnapping Group operatives on July 3 raided safe houses in Batangas and Las Piñas City allegedly used by a kidnap-for-ransom group targeting big-time Chinese casino players.
Authorities raided houses in Tanauan, Batangas and Pulang Lupa I, Las Piñas but the suspects were not in the area.
Suspects reportedly enticed casino high rollers to play in the Philippines. Ransom was usually around RMB100 million or P700 million.
Police said Cyprus-based Chinese businessmen were lured to invest in the Philippines and abducted from the airport upon arrival.
Another victim, Li Chao, was kidnapped by the group in a KTV Bar in Pasay City last June 11. Closed-circuit television footage showed male suspects, who pretended to be National Bureau of Investigation agents, served Chao a fake warrant of arrest and forced him to ride a van. Li was released after paying P175 million in ransom.
Another CCTV footage showed the SUV used in the kidnapping was disassembled in Batangas.
In Las Piñas, authorities recovered NBI and police badges, police uniform, bonnets and face masks.
Guns, grenades, M-203 grenade launchers and bundles of P1,000 amounting to P1.3M were also found in the safe houses.
Meanwhile, Chinese kidnap victim Jiang Fan Li was rescued by joint elements of the PNP-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group and Makati City Police in Makati City on July 4.
Suspects Lee Arvin Apostol and Brian Alit Reguntina were nabbed.
In a separate incident, agents of the PNP-CIDG arrested eight Chinese nationals who allegedly kidnapped two fellow Chinese in Las Piñas.
Police received a report on June 28 about the kidnapping of Liu Chao and Li San Sheng. The victims were found handcuffed in a house inside a private subdivision in Pamplona on June 29.
The suspects – Gui Yang, Zhou Xialong, Wang Wentao, Xiong Li, Jiang Fan, Hong Peifeng, Ly Shaoyong, and Jiang Yingjiang – were arrested.
Police also confiscated a wrench, packaging tape, pliers, handcuffs – items allegedly used to torture the victims – and mobile phones.
Family of kidnapped kid gets justice after 3 years
The family of a 6-year-old boy abducted in 2016 finally received justice three years after he was kidnapped.
The Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 86, in a decision on July 2, sentenced to life imprisonment 42-year-old Loida Annaway, who was accused of kidnapping the victim on April 18, 2016.
The Philippine National Police-Anti-Kidnapping Group (PNP-AKG) said the father of the victim reported to the Tabuk City Police Station in Kalinga province on April 19, 2016, that his son was missing. The report was coordinated with the PNP-AKG.
On the same day, the family of the victim received a text message from an unknown person who demanded P100,000 in exchange for his release.
A pursuit operation was launched, and police found the child in Quezon City on April 22, 2016. Annaway was arrested.
Aside from jail time, Annaway was also ordered by the court to pay P300,000 to the victim’s family for moral and civil damages.
