Police on Monday continued their search for a 33-year-old man who was abducted from his home in Ubay town last week.

Major Rey Olar, chief of the Ubay Police Station, said investigators were already following up several leads on the identities of the armed men who barged into the home of victim Chito Inalim in Barangay Bulilis and forced him to board a van at past 8 p.m. on October 14, 2022.

According to Olar, the abduction may have stemmed from a drug-related debt.

“Usa kuno sa mga suspek naay giingon og bahin batal, maoy nadunggan sa asawa,” the police chief said.

“Batal” is a local term which means money owed for the purchase of illegal drugs.

Based on information gathered by police, around 10 men, some of them armed with long and short firearms, forcibly entered the house of Inalim as witnessed by the victim’s wife.

The abductors took Inalim and forced him to board a white van parked some “150 meters” from his roadside home.

Olar said Inalim’s wife was not able to identify any of the perpetrators who were all wearing bonnets.

The vehicle then sped towards an undetermined direction.

The police chief added that Inalim was previously listed a newly identified drug personality in the town.

“Wa pa ni siya madakpi pero according to atong barangay usa ni siya sa gidudahan na nagduwa,” said Olar. (A. Doydora)