Former Police Lt. Col. Rafael Dumlao III, a fugitive convicted in the 2016 kidnap-slay of South Korean businessman Jee Ick Joo, was arrested early Tuesday in Quezon City, Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla announced.
Remulla said Criminal Investigation and Detection Group operatives arrested Dumlao at around 5 a.m. in a safe house in Barangay Pasong Tamo following a tip from informants, who will receive the P1 million reward offered for his capture. Authorities also seized a 9mm pistol, reportedly registered under another person's name, along with Dumlao's mobile phone and laptop, which will undergo forensic examination to identify individuals who may have harbored the fugitive.
Dumlao was tagged as the mastermind in the abduction of Jee from his Angeles City home in October 2016. The victim was later found dead inside Camp Crame on the same day. Remulla described the case as a product of abuses committed during the anti-drug campaign known as "Tokhang" and stressed that the PNP "does not protect anyone." Dumlao was acquitted by a Pampanga court in 2019 but the Court of Appeals reversed the ruling in 2024, leading to his conviction and arrest.
