AGENTS of the Philippine National Police Anti-Kidnapping Group (PNP-AKG) are not giving wanted kidnappers and their cohorts any good time to sleep and enjoy their loot with the only place for them the cold cells of a government jail or if they opt to put up an armed resistance, six-feet underground.

“We are continuously tracking down all wanted kidnapping-for-ransom gang members including foreign nationals known for preying on their compatriots residing or working in the country,” PNP-AKG director, Brigadier General Rudolph B. Dimas told the Journal Group.

On Tuesday last week, an intelligence-driven operation launched by the AKG Visayas Field Unit with the assistance of officers from the Police Regional Office 7 (PRO7) and the PNP Highway Patrol Group (HPG) led to the safe rescue of a kidnapped Chinese national and the killing of four of his compatriots n a gunbattle in Lapu-Lapu City in Cebu.

In a report to PNP Officer-in-Charge, Lieutenant General Vicente D. Danao Jr., the PNP-AKG director said his men rescued Lyu Xingou inside his kidnappers’ safehouse om Block 9, Lot 14, Sevilla Street in Altea del Sol Subdivision located in Barangay Bangkal, Lapu-Lapu City.

During the rescue operation, four of the victim’s kidnappers known thru their identification cards as Jinming Gong, Yiping You, Fengqiang Li and Heng Lin were killed in a shootout with officers.

Gong turned out to be a native of Guangdong, China while Li is from Shandong. The two others are from Fujian, China.

“This is a kidnapping-for-ransom case and not related to POGO or casino activities since the victim is in the real estate business,” said the official

Brig. Gen. Dimas said the slain suspects yielded four loaded pistols with magazines containing several live ammunition and two pairs of handcuffs. Also recovered inside their hideout were a laptop computer and seven mobile phones which are all currently being subjected to a technical examination and two Chinabank checks.

The PNP-AKG director said their investigation showed Lyu Xingou was forcibly taken at the garage of his house in Bgy. Lahug, Cebu City as he was preparing to report for work at the Mactan Newtown Complex in Lapu-Lapu City around 8:35 a.m. last May 25

The four Chinese kidnappers at gunpoint forced the victim to go inside their getaway black Toyota Innova and fled towards an unknown destination. They later brought their captive inside their safehouse where they were believed to have tortured the victim before demanding 1 million RMB from his family abroad.

The victim’s family initially paid 500,000 RMB to the kidnappers thru a WeChat account forwarded to them by the kidnappers.

According to the PNP-AKG director, members of the AKG Visayas Field Unit led by Lieutenant Colonel Lee Allen Bauding, backed up by operatives from the PRO7 Regional Intelligence Division and Regional Special Operations Group led by Col. Glenn Mayam and Lt. Col. Ronnie Failoga and the Lapu-Lapu City Police Office under Col. Arnel Banzon raided the suspects’ hideout following a tip from a concerned citizen.

It turned out that the suspects were the same men who snatched Lyu Singou. Witnesses said one of the Chinese-speaking men pointed a gun at the victim and forcibly dragged him into their getaway wagon with an unknown license plate before fleeing towards an unknown direction.

During negotiations, the kidnappers asked their captive’s son who was in China to give them 1 million RMB but the family was only able to transmit 500,000 RMB to them using the WeChat number 09156676595.

The official said that thru the help of witnesses, they were able to locate the safehouse of the group.

He said that while conducting surveillance in the area, members of the AKG Visayas Field Unit spotted a Chinese-looking man leaving the house several times. Residents in nearby places later told the AKG officers that there were more or less four Chinese-looking male residents in the area.

Following coordination with the PRO7 headed by Brig. Gen. Roque Edgardo DP Vega and the PNP-HPG under Brig. Gen. Rommel Francisco D. Marbil, the PNP-AKG agents raided the suspects’ place.

“However, our men were met with gunfire from the suspects prompting them to retaliate killing all four on the spot. Our agents later rescued the victim safely inside the raided place,” Brig. Gen. Dimas said.

The kidnapping-for-ransom victim was found blindfolded and his hands tied together while his feet were bound to a bed. He was found lying inside one of the rooms at the suspects’ rented house shortly after the gunbattle ended and was immediately taken to a local hospital for a medical examination.

The official said they are looking into the involvement of the slain suspects in a number of previous kidnapping cases they have investigated, all involving Chinese nationals working in POGO outlets or online casinos.

Brig. Gen. Dimas said they are investigating information that the slain suspects were formerly operating in Metro Manila before transferring to Cebu after feeling the heat of an intense PNP-AKG operation.

A daughter of the victim informed the PNP-AKG that his father was abducted last May 25 triggering the rescue operation. The kidnappers initially demanded a total of P7 billion ransom in exchange for the release of the victim, the victim’s daughter said.

Brig. Gen. Dimas said that they are also investigating the possible involvement of the four slain suspects in the kidnapping of Chinese businessman and real estate developer Li Hong Yu last May 7.

Two Chinese nationals identified as Xue Rong Tong and Li Guo Min were arrested by policemen who rescued Li. The captive was also tortured by his captors.