By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga
A retired police officer allegedly connected with a shabu shipment worth P11 billion was kidnapped on Good Friday while attending a family affair at a hotel in Bacolod City’s Barangay 7.
Police identified the victim as retired Police Major Lito Pirote.
Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO) officer-in-charge, Police Colonel Henry Biñas, said, based on information provided by Police Station 2 investigators and eyewitness testimony, the Metro Inn was broken into by eight to 10 armed men wearing tactical gear and bonnets.
The suspects disarmed the hotel’s security guards and ordered employees and guests to lie down on the floor.
Two of the suspects served as lookouts, while five proceeded to Pirote’s location and forcefully dragged him out.
Witnesses also claimed the former police officer tried to resist being kidnapped, but one of the suspects struck him in the head with his firearm.
Pirote was then pushed inside a white Toyota HiAce van, with plate number YS-4514, which immediately sped northwards.
Biñas refused to provide further details on the investigation as they are presently coordinating with Toyota Philippines to trace the owner of the vehicle.
Meanwhile, the family has yet to receive any contact from Pirote’s captors.
Closed-circuit television footage showed the incident was reminiscent of the kidnappings of Batangas-based businessman Allan Fajardo and his bodyguard Ricky Atienza in Santa Rosa, Laguna earlier this month.
Fajardo was also a former aide to slain Tanauan City Mayor Antonio Halili, who was also reported to have links to illegal drugs in Batangas.
Police, however, refused to say if the two incidents are connected.
Pirote retired from police service earlier this year and was previously assigned under the Philippine National Police Anti-Illegal Drugs Special Operations Task Group.
He was also one of the seven cops President Rodrigo Duterte claimed were involved with a drug matrix.
In addition, Pirote was previously charged by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency for alleged links with the P11 billion drug shipment intercepted at the Manila International Container Port and in Cavite./DGB, WDJ