Chinese nationals nabbed for kidnapping

Makati police operatives arrested three Chinese nationals during a high-risk rescue operation early Friday morning, in response to a kidnapping-for-ransom case involving a Vietnamese woman.

Joint elements from the Makati City Police’s Investigation and Detective Management Section, Station Intelligence Section, DMFB SWAT, and Tactical Motorcycle Riding Unit raided a condominium at the corner of Amorsolo and Arnaiz Avenue in Barangay San Lorenzo.

Initial reports said the victim was lured to Makati on 4 June by the suspects and forcibly taken to Tagaytay, where she was allegedly drugged, raped, and filmed by at least five unidentified men. She was later brought back to Makati, where the suspects demanded P1 million from her husband abroad, threatening to cut off her fingers if he failed to pay.

Alarmed by the threat, the victim’s husband sent the messages to a friend in the Philippines, who alerted police. Authorities, leveraging the NCRPO’s rapid deployment protocols and radio network, responded within minutes and rescued the victim.

The suspects — aged 32, 33, and 38 — were caught inside the condo unit with the victim. Police recovered firearms with suppressors (a 9mm Taurus and a .22-caliber Jennings pistol), magazines, ammunition, seven sachets of suspected shabu weighing 20 grams (estimated at P136,800), a vial of suspected liquid ecstasy, handcuffs, fake boodle money, car keys, a license plate, mobile phones used in the extortion scheme, and drug paraphernalia.

A Filipina outside the unit, believed to be a girlfriend of one of the suspects, attempted to mislead authorities but later admitted there was another woman inside, which raised suspicion. Officers then heard a firearm being cocked, prompting SWAT reinforcements.

One of the suspects has a criminal history involving illegal detention, estafa, and grave threats, with multiple police blotter entries from various jurisdictions.

The suspects will face charges for kidnapping-for-ransom under Article 267 of the Revised Penal Code as amended by Republic Act 10951, violations of RA 9165 (Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act), RA 10591 (Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Act), all in relation to the Omnibus Election Code.