A Philippine police colonel is among the suspects in the recent kidnapping and murder of a local casino junket operator.

On October 21, junket operator Oscar Tan aka Carlos Abad Tan and his chauffeur were abducted en route to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila. Tan’s driver was released later that same day while Tan was held after his kidnappers issued a P50m (US $1m) ransom demand.

This ransom demand reportedly went unpaid, so Tan’s kidnappers reduced their demand to P10m, but this too went unpaid when further negotiations failed. On October 24, Tan’s body was discovered near a bridge in Tagaytay City.

On October 27, the Anti-Kidnap Group (AKG) of the Philippine National Police (PNP) were involved in a shootout leading to the deaths of four individuals believed to be connected with Tan’s kidnap and murder. To the PNP’s surprise, one of these four was a serving police officer with the Quezon City Police District (QCPD), two others were former cops, while the fourth was a civilian.