30 kidnappers-for-ransom nabbed from January to November

MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) - Authorities have arrested 30 suspected kidnappers-for-ransom from January to November this year, a senior government official said today.

Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Undersecretary Tomasito Villarin attributed the arrest of the suspects on the implementation of the "whole of PNP (Philippine National Police) approach" in targeting criminals.

Under this strategy, the PNP, which is under the DILG, strategically pooled its resources of intelligence to eventually capture the criminals, he said.

Among those who were captured were the heads of Dela Cruz Kidnap-for-Ransom Group (KFRG), which was responsible for at least six kidnapping incidents in Metro Manila and Region 4 (Calabarzon), and leader of the notorious Padillo KFRG involved in the widely publicized kidnapping of a Filipino-Chinese in July last year in Quezon City, Metro Manila.

Movement for Restoration of Peace and Order, a Filipino-Chinese non-government organization, has hailed the arrest of the suspected kidnappers.