MANILA – Five suspects in the kidnap for ransom of a Pakistani national were arrested in separate operations in two provinces in Central Luzon, a spokesman of the Philippine National Police (PNP) reported.
The spokesman said the victim, identified as Yaesar Irfan, 25, a Pakistani national, was abducted by several armed men along with a Filipino friend in the town of Pilar, Bataan province in Central Luzon on January 9.
According to the spokesman, Irfan and his friend were released at dawn on Sunday after the Pakistani’s family reportedly paid a ransom equivalent to $10,000.
He added that Irfan and his family were engaged in the lucrative lending business, mostly to stallholders in public markets in the whole of Bataan.
The five suspects were arrested in several follow-up operations conducted by members of the Police Anti-Crime and Emergency Response (Pacer) team, an elite unit of the PNP, in Bataan and the neighboring province of Pampanga, the spokesman also said.
He said police recovered from two of the suspects more than $100 each, which were believed part of the ransom money.
Citing a Pacer report on the case, the spokesman said Irfan and his friend were riding tandem on a motorcycle when armed men aboard a sports utility vehicle blocked their path in Balanga City, Bataan on January 9 and forced them to alight.
From Balanga, the spokesman said the suspects brought the victims to their safehouse located in the town of Hermosa where they called up Irfan’s family to demand a $10,000 ransom in exchange for their release.
Unknown to the abductors, the spokesman said Irfan’s father called up the Pacer unit in Bataan to inform its members of the abduction.
Irfan and his friend were released at about l:30 a.m. on Sunday after the family reportedly paid the ransom demanded by the suspects.
Some four hours after the release of the victims, the spokesman said a joint team of Pacer and the Bataan police traced the suspects to their safehouse in Hermosa and arrested three.
The two others, who admitted participation in the abduction, were nabbed in the town of Guagua, Pampanga, the spokesman said.
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