Chief Superintendent Jesus Verzosa, Calabarzon police director, said Rene Superable, tagged as the head of the so-called "Waray-Waray Ilonggo" syndicate, did not resist arrest when the raiding team swooped down on his hiding place in Barangay De La Paz at about 1 a.m.
Superable and his men face at least five pending kidnapping cases. Most of their victims were Chinese-Filipino.
Aside from kidnappings, Superable’s group has been implicated in several high-profile highway robberies and car thefts in Metro Manila and Central and Southern Luzon.
Verzosa said Superable’s arrest capped months of intense surveillance and case build-up by the Calabarzon police intelligence agents.
The Waray-Waray Ilonggo gang was also tagged in the kidnap-slaying of Coca-Coca executive Betty Sy.
Verzosa said a manhunt is ongoing for the other members of the syndicate, believed to be still capable of pulling off kidnappings and robberies in Metro Manila, Central Luzon and Southern Tagalog.