Ilocos gun-for-hire gang head arrested

CAMP DIEGO SILANG, La Union, Philippines – The suspected leader of a gun-for-hire group tagged in the killings of five barangay officials in Ilocos Sur is now in police custody, the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) said. 

Senior Superintendent Francisco Esguerra, CIDG regional chief, said the suspect, Arsenio de la Cruz, 62, the sixth most wanted person in Ilocos Sur, was linked to the Dec. 4, 2013 slay of Antonio Valdez, chief of Barangay Dan-ar, Santiago town, among other killings.