GARMA
Police have gotten a lead as they looked into the cellphone records of Korean national Lee Young Ho, who was found dead inside a motel room in Barangay Mabolo, his body riddled with bullets.
Cebu City Police Director, Senior Supt. Royina Garma said the killing could have been caused by conflicts arising from the illegal drug trade.
“Based sa na seize na cellphone, may mga transactions sa cellphone. At based doon, nagka-onsehan sila sa bentahan nang droga. Yung kabilang grupo siningil siya,” she added.
(Cellphone records show that there were transactions made. And based on these transactions, it looks like they were doublecrossing each other while selling illegal drugs. The other group wanted to collect from him).
She said it is possible that Lee failed to turn over drug proceeds to his bosses.
Investigators from the Mabolo Police Station also announced that they already have “persons of interest” in relation to the killing of Lee.
Senior Insp. Janelito Marquez, the deputy chief of Mabolo Police station, said the four “persons of interests” were identified based on the account of the motel staff.
“Minutes after the shooting incident, two motorcycles with women backriders went out of the said motel,” said Marquez.
When the police examined the motel room where the victim was found, they recovered drug paraphernalia and a receipt from a money courier which contained a name of a man whose address is in Consolacion town.
He said that when they coordinated with the Consolacion police, they found out that the person whose name was in the receipt is an alleged drug pusher residing in Liloan town.
On the other hand, Marquez also said it is possible that Lee’s death may have something to do with a debt since witnesses told them that shortly before he was shot, Lee asked for forgiveness, apparently from his assailant
“Matod sa witness nga atung nahinabi nga nangayo daw nig sorry, niana daw nga sorry sorry sorry sorry, so maybe nakasala ning Koreano or nakatabla og kwarta ba (According to our witness, he kept saying ’sorry’ so maybe he committed an offense or could no longer pay a debt),” he explained.
Meanwhile, Garma assured that the killing of Lee and Japanese national Junko Hamada, are not related and that there is nothing to be alarmed about and that the police are doing its best to solve the killings.
Meanwhile, the Korean Consulate in Cebu will be coordinating with the police in the investigation into the circumstances behind Lee’s death.
Consul Oh Young Hoon, who is also the Consulate’s police attache, said he will be meeting with both CCPO and the Police Regional Office (PRO)7.
“And then I will ask the officer in charge to arrest the suspect and to make efforts not to let such cases happen again,” he told Cebu Daily News.
Oh also said they are also trying to locate the family members of the victim.
“We will assist the family to come and check the victim. And we will help the family to take the victim back to Korea,” he added.