After nearly a decade on the run, police have arrested the mastermind in the 2016 kidnapping and killing of Korean national Jee Ick Joo inside the Philippine National Police headquarters in Camp Crame.

According to a report by RH Edniel Parrosa, the dismissed police lieutenant colonel Rafael Dumlao III was arrested at about 5 a.m. in Pasong Tamo, Quezon City, Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said Tuesday.

Remulla said authorities were able to track Dumlao after receiving a tip that he attended his daughter’s wedding last week. He added that a ₱1-million reward will be given to an unnamed informant who provided Dumlao’s exact location.

Jee Ick Joo, a Korean national, was among the most high-profile victims linked to the previous administration’s anti-illegal drugs campaign.

Initial reports state Joo was abducted from his home in Angeles City, later strangled, killed, and his remains were allegedly burned and flushed inside a toilet at Camp Crame.

Remulla defended the arrest, saying it was carried out properly and within legal procedures.

“Yung tokhang kasi gave too much license to the PNP officers to do things at their whim,” he said, referring to the anti-drug campaign during the Duterte administration.

“In this case, ginawa namin ang lahat according to the law. We did not violate any procedure. We read him his rights… Dinala siya for proper investigation and he will face justice,” he added.

Dumlao was previously acquitted by a local court in Angeles, but the Court of Appeals reversed the ruling in 2024.

Authorities said forensic examination of Dumlao’s electronic devices is ongoing to determine whether he was aided by others while evading arrest.