The suspects in the kidnapping of a student from Taguig City have also been linked to other kidnapping cases, an official of the Philippine National Police said on Thursday. 

PNP spokesperson Brig. Gen. Jean Fajardo said authorities have been pursuing the suspects for a long time. 

“Yung suspects po natin ay kasama ng grupo na matagal na nating hinahabol dahil nainvolve na rin sila sa kidnapping,” Fajardo said in an interview on Teleradyo Serbisyo. “Ang nangyari dito Chinese-to-Chinese ito.” 

Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla on Wednesday said the primary suspect in the abduction is also wanted for a shooting incident in a restaurant in Makati City last year. 

A certain Wang Dan Yu, also known as Bao Long, was identified as the suspect in the fatal shooting of another Chinese in a hotpot restaurant in Makati City in October 2024. 

“Kasama po siya [Bao Long] sa hinahabol natin at may identities na rin tayo ng kanilang conspirators pero we cannot give too much details because of our pursuit and followup operations,” Fajardo said. 

The 14-year-old student had been missing since February 20 and was found on a roadside in Paranaque City on Tuesday evening. 

The victim’s parents and the kidnappers had been conversing on WeChat, a messaging app popular among those from mainland China. 

The kidnappers demanded a ransom of USD20 million, but Fajardo said no ransom was paid, reinforcing the PNP’s stance against any form of extortion. 

“S20 million ang hinihingi. Nakipagusap ang pamilya pero per reports ng SILG, we have to really commend ang cooperation ng pamilya dahil if not for them, hindi natin ito mareresolve at marerescue ang bata. Walang ransom na binigay,” she noted. 

The PNP is looking at the victim’s family’s previous connection with Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs). 

“Based sa initial investigation ng AKG, ang pamilya ng bata ay involved sa POGO. Ito ang tinitignan nating anggulo na kapwa POGO operators o any relation to POGO,” Fajardo said. 

“Ang tinitignan ay ang background ng bata. Sila ay engaged sa POGO dati kaya ito ang pinag-ugatan. It’s all about money talaga. Yung pattern na nakikita natin doon sa previous abductions involving the Chinese ay pera talaga pinag-ugatan,” she added. 

The syndicate believed to responsible for the kidnapping consists of former POGO operators and their bodyguards, some of whom were previously affiliated with the PNP and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) but have gone absent without leave (AWOL). Remulla said authorities believe the syndicate is still in the country.

 “Nakikita natin ngayon na ang mga dating involved sa POGO ay naghanap ng ibang pagkakakitaan nang biglang natigil ang kanilang operations. May mga outstanding na utang ito, so ito ang tinitignan nating pinag-uugatan na nagshishift sila—inaabduct nila ang mga may outstanding na utang sa kanila. Ito ang nakikita nating anggulo so far,” Fajardo explained. 

She went on, “Kasama sa iniimbestigahan ang possibility na may connivance sa dating mga miyembro ng uniformed service. Nakikita natin ang precision paano kinuha ang bata, ang actions thereafter. Ika nga, may alam ang mga pagkilos nila. Tinitignan natin diyan ang mga AWOL na dating nasa uniformed service.” 

POGOs were originally meant to service Chinese gamblers betting online and were touted as a good source of tax revenues. However, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered the ban on POGOs last year over incidents of human trafficking, abuse, and torture in POGO facilities.