Fugitive businessman Charlie “Atong” Ang —File photo by Niño Jesus Orbeta

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine National Police said on Tuesday it was verifying reports that gambling tycoon Atong Ang, the alleged mastermind behind the disappearance of at least 34 cockfighting aficionados (sabungeros), had fled the country.

“The last known place he had gone to—of course, that was a long time ago—was still here in the Philippines,” PNP chief Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. told reporters at Camp Crame.

“If there were reports that he fled already, leaving our country, we are verifying that. But [there’s] the strongest possibility he’s still here in the Philippines,” Nartatez said.

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READ: Remulla: Atong Ang moving around Calabarzon every 2 days to evade arrest

Ang has been ordered arrested by Laguna and Batangas courts over the alleged kidnapping and killing of the sabungeros between 2021 and 2022.

READ: Atong Ang, police major linked to Chinese triad in Negros

Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla previously said the police failed to catch Ang in a house in Cavite earlier this month after he left a day before they arrived.

He added that Ang reportedly moved around the Calabarzon area every other day with a small team to evade arrest. —JASON SIGALES

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