‘Kidnapping’ turns out to be legal BID arrest

The arrest of two foreigners in barangay Poblacion, Boljoon town, last Thursday afternoon created panic and alarm when witnesses thought it was a kidnapping incident.

For their failure to coordinate properly with the Boljoon police, Bureau of Immigration and Deportation-7 operatives who arrested two Indian nationals found to lack proper documents for their stay in the country created panic at a marketplace. 

SPO4 Emmanuel Villareal, the duty investigator of the Boljoon Police station, said that people reported they saw Sarbit Singh, 25, of Argao town and Balvir Kumar, 23, who hails from Nueva Ecija, both partners in a lending business, suddenly dragged to a van.

“Naka-cause gyod sila’g alarm sa lugar kay nag-civilian man god sila.  Unya gipugos pa gyod nila’g pasakay sa itom nga van ang duha ka mga Indian nationals,” Villareal said, adding that the police immediately responded to the alarm.

The Immigration operatives were reportedly using a black Starex van with no plate number.

When the policemen arrived at the area, the Immigration operatives were no longer there prompting them to send a radio communication to the Santander Police station about the “kidnapping”.

Sr. Insp. Richard Oliver of the Santander Police station said that they immediately conducted a roadblock in the area upon receiving the communication from the Boljoon Police station.

Another police team proceeded to Maayo Shipping Lines at the boundary of Santander and Samboan towns.

Oliver said they later saw the van and stopped it, but the five alleged “kidnappers” headed by Ferdie Balbuena identified themselves as the operatives of the Immigration bureau.

In a separate interview with reporters, CPPO director Carmelo Valmoria said that he had personally talked with the team leader of the BID who conducted the operation.  He said the BID operatives already apologized for whatever trouble they had caused to the townsfolk of Boljoon.

But Valmoria said he instructed the Boljoon and Santander police stations to make a report on the incident as basis on the raising of their formal complaints before the BID office.  — Garry B. Lao/MEEV