The killing of two suspected hitmen while under police custody by motorcycle-riding gunmen in Manila last Tuesday is possibly connected to illegal drugs, a spokesperson of the Manila Police District said Saturday.

In an interview over dzMM, Police Col. Carlo Magno Manuel said it is possible the two slain hitmen and the assailants are part of a syndicate connected with illegal drugs.

"According to the initial investigation, the slain suspects' confession that they are hired killers has a relation to the ambush. They and the other party )(might be) assigned to gun down those that cannot remit illegal drugs," Manuel said.

"If you will look closely it's all about illegal drugs. These are syndicates," he added.

The slain alleged hitmen were gunned down at the corner of Lacson and Fajardo streets by six men riding in tandem, Manuel said. The attackers disarmed their police escort before killing their targets.

Manuel also said police formed a special investigation task group to find out how the incident was handled.

"We are investigating if the police escorts had time to defend themselves and the suspects and use their guns to fight the assailants," Manuel said.

Police are also investigating the absence of two more police escorts who were attending hearings.

"Police are checking if they are part of the security deployment and why they did not go with the two police escorts. Perhaps the police treated these (slain) suspects as regular suspects," Manuel said. Cristina Eloisa Baclig/DMS