Philippine Ex-Policeman Arrested in High-Profile Drug War Killing Case
MANILA — A fugitive former anti-narcotics officer was arrested on Tuesday for his conviction in the 2016 kidnapping and killing of a South Korean businessman, a case that became one of the most controversial of ex‑president Rodrigo Duterte’s deadly drug war.
Rafael Dumlao, a former top official of a now‑defunct police anti‑illegal drugs task force, was found asleep with a handgun at a property in northern Manila early Tuesday, according to national police chief General Jose Melencio Nartatez. Dumlao had been hiding after the Supreme Court upheld an appellate court ruling that annulled his 2023 acquittal. He was sentenced to a minimum of 30 years in prison.
The victim, Jee Ick‑joo, was abducted by anti‑narcotics police under the guise of a drug raid. Interior Secretary Juanito Victor Remulla told reporters that witnesses said the kidnappers attempted to extort money, then strangled the victim, cremated his body, and flushed the remains down a toilet inside the national police headquarters in Manila.
“The killing of Jee Ick‑joo was the result of the abuses of ‘tokhang’,” Remulla said, using the local term for anti‑drug operations that killed thousands during Duterte’s presidency. “The tokhangs gave too much license to the operatives to do things at their whim without the process of law.”
Authorities are investigating who helped Dumlao evade arrest. Manila has informed the South Korean ambassador and the victim’s widow. Ex‑president Duterte, now in ICC custody, faces a murder trial starting November 30.
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