Lady trader nabbed for ‘kidnap me’ ploy

A lady trader who masterminded her own kidnapping together with that of her two-year-old daughter in order to evade payment of huge debts, was arrested by police anti-kidnapping authorities. Instead of being rescued, businesswoman Olivia Belano was arrested by agents of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) for filing a false kidnapping report involving her and daughter Chelzea.

Director Nestorio Gualberto, CIDG chief, said Belano claimed that she and her daughter were abducted by armed men at the Sta. Rosa Complex, Barangay Balibago in Laguna Monday. Belano informed Gualberto that the supposed ransom pay-off set the following day was aborted with the kidnappers demanding that the ransom be paid instead through an automated teller machine (ATM).

Because of her story, Gualberto ordered a discreet anti-kidnapping follow-up operation in Laguna that unmasked the real motive of Belano.

Police findings that the Belanos’ kidnapping case was fake, were bolstered by testimonies of three neighbors who claimed that Belano owed them P449,783. CIDG agents also discovered that on March 20, Belano filed a complaint with the police that she lost P105,000 to holduppers after withdrawing money from two BPI Family bank branches in Balibago and Cabuyao towns.

A check by CIDG agents on the two banks showed that no withdrawals on Belano’s account were made on the day she claimed to have been victimized by holduppers. — Jaime Laude and Ed Amoroso