MANILA, Philippines — Police arrested five Chinese nationals and a Filipino in Parañaque City for alleged kidnap-for-ransom racket and possession of illegal drugs, the Southern Police District (SPD) said.
Reports from SPD’s Public Information Office on Tuesday showed that the suspects were arrested during an entrapment operation at a hotel in Parañaque’s Barangay Tambo on Monday afternoon. The arresting policemen reportedly responded to a complaint about the abduction of a 25-year-old male businessman.
According to the SPD, a certain Shaomen Hu, also a Chinese national, was taken by the suspects from a condominium complex in Aseana Business Park. Another businessman who was an acquaintance of the victim then received messages from the suspects who were asking for P700,000 in exchange for the victim’s freedom.
After that, the victim’s acquaintance sought the help of local authorities, who then arranged an operation that led to the suspects’ arrest inside a hotel room along Bradco Avenue.
Three of the suspects aged 34, 28, and 28 were billeted at a hotel in Parañaque, while the other one lived at a high-rise building in Makati City’s Ayala Avenue, and another in a condominium in Pasay City.
One of the suspects, a 37-year-old Filipino woman, was identified to be a resident of Barangay Putatan in Muntinlupa City.
Aside from kidnapping charges, police are expected to file charges for violation of Sections 11 and 12 of Republic Act No. 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, after a small sachet containing suspected shabu worth around P11,990 was seized from the suspects.
Aside from the illegal drugs, one small plastic tube straw with possible traces of shabu, one gray clutch bag, and the marked money amounting to ₱20,000 were also recovered by the operatives.
As of now, the arrested suspects are temporarily detained at the Parañaque City Police Station Custodial Facility, while the pieces of evidence were turned over to the SPD’s Forensic Unit for chemical analysis.
SPD Director Brig. Gen. Jimili Macaraeg meanwhile said that the arrest of the suspects should be a warning to kidnapping syndicates that such criminal activities would be tracked down by the police.
“Let this serve as a warning to kidnapping syndicate especially those foreign nationals involved in kidnapping their compatriot that we [are] very serious in fighting lawless elements,” Macaraeg said.
“We will continue to gain grounds in our battle against well-entrenched kidnap for ransom (KFR) gangs and other forms of lawlessness in our area,” he added.