Kidnap gang leader nabbed at NAIA

An Indian national believed to be the leader of a kidnap-for-ransom group preying on his compatriots engaged in business in the country has been arrested while trying to flee, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) said yesterday.

Immigration Commissioner Alipio Fernandez Jr. said the suspect, identified as Kulwant Singh, was arrested at the departure area of Ninoy Aquino International Airport before he could board a Singapore Airlines flight to New Delhi on Jan. 24, a day after police launched a daring rescue of one of his Indian victims in San Mateo, Rizal.

Fernandez said BI agents seized from Singh several spurious travel documents, including a fake re-entry permit and exit clearance certificate.

Immigration Intelligence Office chief lawyer Faizal Hussin said the Indian national had been repeatedly summoned by the bureau to answer allegations that he was using aliases and was involved in kidnapping activities.

"He (Singh) has been transferring residence from one place to another, which made it difficult for our operatives to track him," Hussin said.

The BI official also revealed that his office had received information that Singh was one of the leaders of a kidnap-for-ransom syndicate operating in eastern Metro and Rizal province.

Hussin said Singh allegedly worked with another Indian national, who is now the subject of a manhunt by BI agents.

Singh was arrested a day after police rescued an Indian businessman from his abductors in San Mateo, Rizal.

Businessman Karnail Singh Chahal, 45, of Marikina City, was found unharmed inside a shanty in Barangay Gulod, San Mateo during a raid.

The police operation left one of four suspects dead.

Among those arrested was another an Indian national, who served as a tipster for the group.

At the police station, several Indian nationals surfaced and identified some of the arrested suspects as among those who kidnapped them last year. — With AFP