Personnel of the Philippine National Police’s Anti-Kidnapping Group (PNP-AKG) have arrested 11 kidnapping suspects and rescued a 78-year-old Filipino-Chinese victim in an operation in Quezon City, Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said Friday.
At a press briefing in Camp Crame, Remula said the victim, a businesswoman, was rescued while withdrawing a supposed ransom of PHP150 million demanded by her abductors, on Sept. 11, after more than a week in captivity.
She was abducted on her way to work along C3 Road in Quezon City on Sept. 2, and detained at a “safehouse” in Laurel, Batangas. After agreeing with the ransom demand, the family – without the suspects’ knowledge – informed the police about it, prompting the latter to plan a rescue operation.
On the day the victim was withdrawing the money, the bank operators, who already knew of the situation, contacted the police through a 911 call. After 2 minutes, police swooped in and arrested three suspects who accompanied the victim – two former Marines and a former Army personnel.
During a follow-up operation on the same day, eight more suspects were arrested, including three women.
