Quezon City shootout probe: Kidnap suspects got P50 M from 10 victims

QUEZON CITY -- Four suspects who were killed in a shootout with policemen in Quezon City Wednesday were allegedly part of a kidnap group that successfully collected P50 million from at least 10 kidnappings since 2007 before they were collared, investigators said yesterday.

Police Inspector Angelo Nicolas, chief of the Quezon City Police District’s anti-carjacking section, said according to information from the Police Anti-Crime and Emergency Response (PACER), the group allegedly led by Calvin Lagado had been operating in Metro Manila for about two years. However, he refused to identify the victims upon their request.

“We are conducting further follow-up operations to identify and hunt down other members of this group,” he assured.

Lagado and three other suspects –Emelito Comia, Rex Mirafuente and Joel Esguerra – were killed when they shot it out with policemen from Quezon City and the Philippine National Police-Highway Patrol Group (PNP-HPG) along Quezon Avenue before dawn last Wednesday.

Comia, Mirafuente and Esguerra were killed on the spot and identified through driver’s licenses and other identification cards found in their possession.

Police initially said the suspects were members of a carjack group until Lagado was finally identified. Lagado was declared dead on arrival at the East Avenue Medical Center at 2:58 a.m. and was initially unnamed.

PACER then identified Lagado as among those on their “target list.”

Nicolas said the National Bureau of Investigation arrested Lagado in 2004 on murder charges. Lagado, however, was able to post bail in 2007 and allegedly started his kidnapping activities.

Nicolas said it was probable that other members of the group are still alive but it was a good thing that their leader had been neutralized.

According to Nicolas, the group could have been about to stage another kidnapping when they encountered the policemen, based on the firearms recovered from them: a .45 caliber Colt handgun, a .45 caliber Ithaca gun, a .9mm handgun and a Daewoo .9mm gun.

“Most members of kidnap-for-ransom (groups) operate individually before they stage an attack. When they are about to kidnap a target, that’s the time they already bring their guns,” Nicolas said.

Anti-carjacking policemen led by Nicolas and PNP-HPG led by Chief Inspector Allan Macapagal were on patrol when they spotted the suspects’ vehicle at the corner of Quezon and Roosevelt Avenues.

The green Toyota Revo (ZFW-363) carrying the suspects did not match the license plate, which Nicolas said was of an older model.

Policemen flagged down the vehicle, but instead of pulling over, the suspects sped away. As the pursuing policemen drew near the suspects’ vehicle, the latter opened fire, prompting the police to retaliate.