2 KFR gang members nabbed in Cavite

CAMP VICENTE LIM, Laguna – Police said they have arrested two suspected members of a kidnap-for-ransom (KFR) group operating in Metro Manila and nearby provinces in Bacoor, Cavite last Tuesday.

Senior Superintendent Arnold Gunnacao, regional director of the Highway Patrol Group (HPG), said his men flagged down suspects Wilbert Repal Ong, 24, and John Dumdumaya, 31, while they were cruising Barangay Salinas in Bacoor on board a Mitsubishi Adventure.

The car’s license plate (PGX-748) was found issued to a Toyota Cressida.

When the car was searched, the HPG men found an unlicensed 9-mm pistol and a caliber .38 revolver, prompting them to arrest Ong and Dumdumaya.

During interrogation, one of the suspects reportedly broke down and admitted his involvement in ransom kidnappings.

Gunnacao said the suspects were tagged as the kidnappers of Indian trader Balwinder Kumar in Tanay, Rizal last June 14.

Kumar was hogtied and blindfolded during his three-day captivity and dumped somewhere in Cavite after his family reportedly paid ransom.

Police are looking into the involvement of the two suspects in other kidnappings. – With Cecille Suerte Felipe