Kidnap suspects arrested, but where’s rest of ransom?

MANILA, Philippines—What happened to the rest of the ransom money?

After the arrest in record time of eight suspects in the kidnapping of a Malaysian businessman on March 6, the Manila Police District (MPD) is now being made to account for P12 million of the more than P16 million reportedly paid as ransom to the abductors.

During police operations conducted by the MPD Ermita Station 5 on Monday night that ended the following morning, the raiding teams only recovered P4.2 million in cash from the alleged leader of a kidnap-for-ransom group, Marlon Lopera.

Lopera and seven other alleged members of his group, including two women, were arrested for the abduction of Malaysian businessman Eric Sim Chin Tong.

The commander of MPD Ermita Station 5, Supt. Felipe Cazon Jr., and his men who were part of the arresting team, have voluntarily subjected them to an investigation by the district leadership.

MPD director Chief Supt. Roberto Rongavilla told the Philippine Daily Inquirer that while police are conducting follow-up operations for the arrest of two other suspected members of the kidnap-for-ransom group, they have been ordered by Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim to account for the reportedly missing large chunk of the ransom money.

“We have been tasked to verify the allegations made by Lopera that at the time of his arrest, the ransom money of more than P16 million was intact inside his suitcase,” Rongavilla said.

The raiding team said they recovered P4 million from Lopera when he was nabbed, along with two others, inside a room of the Riviera Mansion along Mabini Street in Ermita, Manila; P200,000 was recovered from the other suspects rounded up in San Miguel town, Bulacan province.

But the district director said they could not take Lopera’s word for it because of conflicting statements he made as well as the discovery of a list allegedly detailing each of the suspects’ share in the ransom money.

“His (Lopera’s) allegations could be true, but it could also be not true. He is free to make allegations and claim that was what happened just to create doubts about the integrity of our policemen,” Rongavilla stressed.

He added that the MPD is currently in the process of piecing together the story behind the allegedly missing ransom money.

Meanwhile, Superintendent Cazon maintained Thursday that the fact that he and his men recovered P200,000 from suspects Rolando and Bernardo Manuzon, whom they arrested in Barangay Sibul Spring in San Miguel town in Bulacan, meant that the suspects had already divided the money among themselves.

“It was supposed to be P220,000 but the suspects admitted they already spent P20,000,” Cazon pointed out.

But to clarify things, he told the Inquirer, that he and his men, particularly the members of the raiding team, have submitted themselves to an investigation.

“It is unfair for our raiding team who did an excellent job to be placed under suspicion over the ransom money. But we have submitted ourselves to the probe panel to clear up things,” Cazon said.

Lim on Thursday expressed dismay about the loss of the rest of the multimillion ransom recovered by the city police.

“The police work was almost wonderful and praiseworthy. The victim was recovered, the eight suspects were arrested. But the case went awry with regards to the money aspect. This needs a thorough investigation,” the mayor said.

Lim revealed that Lopera had told him that the P16-million ransom was intact inside a suitcase when the police arrived.

“We asked the ransom keeper if what was presented was the same amount taken from him by the police. He said ‘No, it’s lacking. The luggage was full,’” Lim said, quoting Lopera.

Lopera had claimed that when police raided his hideout at the Riviera Mansion in Malate, the police covered his head as they seized the ransom money and placed the suitcase on a table.

In a meeting with MPD officials, Lim admonished the raiders for failing to follow police procedures.

“They should have taken an inventory of confiscated items during the raid and should have made the suspect sign it,” he added.

The mayor said his initial reaction was to recommend the investigators for a spot promotion because of the speedy resolution of the case.

“But they failed when it came to handling the money,” Lim lamented.