Troops, cops lack equipment to track, arrest bandits in south

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines -  A former police general who is the uncle of a freed kidnap victim here said there is a need for the military and police to upgrade their communication monitoring equipment in tracking down and neutralizing the kidnapping syndicates operating in the region.

Retired police general Sukarno Ikbala, former Autonomous  Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) police director, made this observation following the successful recovery of his niece businesswoman Sabrina Ikbala Voon Wednesday, who was reportedly freed due to the operation pressure applied by the security forces.

Voon, 28, a dealer of personal collection cosmetics, was abducted in February by six gunmen, who were members of a kidnapping syndicate linked to the Abu Sayyaf and other bandit groups,  inside their house at Barangay Mercedes.

The former police general said that no ransom was paid for the release of his niece.

“We did not pay any ransom. Perhaps the kidnappers were trying to evade from and avoided being tracked down as the operations kept on closing in,” Ikbala said.

Ikbala said the  series of operations conducted by the police and military in locating the victim forced the suspects to free Voon in this city Wednesday noon.

“The operation of the military and the police had pressured this group,” Ikbala said.

Ikbala said the military and police could have tracked down and possibly arrest or neutralize the kidnappers moments after the release if they were equipped with a communication monitoring device.

“I saw the dedication of the police, military, but somewhat lacking in the communication monitoring equipment. This is the problem of the security forces and I hope the government should prioritize acquiring the equipment to monitor the communication of the suspects,” Ikbala said.

Ikbala also vowed to file charges against the abductors of his niece.

He said they will also cooperate with the authorities in the debriefing of the former captive victim with the information that will help them firm up their case against the kidnappers.