Seven agents from District III of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) were temporarily suspended on September 4th due to allegations of kidnapping and robbing a Chinese citizen, and are facing formal charges.
The incident occurred on July 31st last year, where the victim was kidnapped in a shopping mall parking lot in Pasay City. The kidnappers, disguised as PDEA agents, prevented mall security from intervening and took the victim away.
The kidnappers then demanded a ransom of 15 million pesos from the victim's family and took him to the PDEA regional office in Angeles City, Pampanga. The victim reported that during his detention, he was blindfolded and forced to provide fingerprints related to illegal drugs.
The victim was transferred to a jail in Angeles City, prompting his family to report the incident to the Philippine National Police Anti-Kidnapping Group. The victim confirmed that his wife had transferred 1.3 million pesos to the kidnappers, who also obtained 300,000 pesos from him.
During the investigation, authorities obtained CCTV footage showing the kidnapping process. Cosme Abrenica, head of the Philippine National Police Anti-Kidnapping Group, stated that other suspects are also charged with kidnapping for ransom, illegal detention, and robbery.
The PDEA has pledged to cooperate with the Department of Justice's anti-kidnapping task force in the preliminary investigation and stated that it will continue to fulfill its duties within the legal framework.
