Top cop among Philippine gang behind kidnapping of Chinese, Malaysian tourists

Source: The Star

MANILA: The Philippine authorities have busted a kidnap-for-ransom gang consisting of ranking police officers that have been targeting Chinese and Malaysian tourists in the Philippines.

Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos presented four of the suspects in a news conference on Wednesday (June 5).

The highest ranked among the suspects was Major Christel Carlo Villanueva, an intelligence officer. The three others were all sergeants.

Abalos said the gang is believed to have at least 14 members, including a Chinese and a Malaysian.

The gang was behind the kidnapping of three Chinese men and a Malaysian in the capital Manila on June 2, said Abalos.

The victims were cruising on a Toyota Lexus just after midnight on June 2 when they were flagged by two of the suspects wearing police uniforms and riding police-issued motorcycles.

They were then handcuffed and shoved inside a white van. They were released at around 6am on June 3 after a ransom of 2.5 million pesos (S$57,000) was paid.

"They used motorcycles owned by the government. They are that blatant," said Abalos.

Major-General Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr, police chief in the capital region, said the suspects were identified through security cameras and accounts of witnesses and the victims.

Villanueva, the police major, was tagged as the mastermind by the suspects who were arrested.

Major-Gen Nartatez said the gang could be behind four other kidnaping cases that likewise targeted foreigners.

General Rommel Francisco Marbil, the national police chief, said he wanted to see the suspects "die in prison" for tarnishing the police's image.

Former president Rodrigo Duterte had described many members of the national police, numbering more than 230,000, as "rotten to the core".

The US State Department classifies the Philippines as a "Level 2" destination where Americans have to "exercise increased caution" when travelling there.

There are some parts of the country, particularly in the restive south where terrorist organisations like the Abu Sayyaf operates, where travel for Americans is discouraged. - The Straits Times/ANN