10 most notorious kidnappers tagged

After the killing of a notorious kidnap gang leader 12 days ago, the National Anti-Kidnapping Task Force (Naktaf) said yesterday it is pursuing the nine other gang leaders remaining in the list of the 10 most wanted kidnappers in the country.

Naktaf chief and former defense secretary Angelo Reyes said the nine men in the list of 10 most wanted lead five criminal gangs believed to be involved in scores of kidnappings in Metro Manila and Southern Tagalog.

Reyes identified the nine gang leaders as Harold Fajardo, Rolando Fajardo, Eddie Trinidad and Vilmor Catamco of the Fajardo gang; Allan Niegas of the Niegas gang, Joe Lim "Jack" Arnuco of the Pegarido gang, Renaldo Cacho of the Estrada gang, and Feliciano Laygo and Jaime Moog of the Feliciano gang.

The most wanted kidnapping lord in the country was Roberto Obeles Yap, whose group was said to have perpetrated the Betti Chua-Sy kidnapping on Nov. 17. Lawmen killed Obeles in a gunfight in Dinalupihan, Bataan last Nov. 20.

Reyes said rewards ranging from P500,000 to P1 million are being offered for information leading to the capture, arrest or "neutralization" of the nine wanted gang leaders.

He said photographs of the nine men will be printed on "wanted" posters which will be posted in all airports, seaports, marketplaces, subdivisions, schools, shopping malls and other public places so people could identify them on sight.

Reyes said information regarding the whereabouts of the nine kidnappers can be relayed to the Naktaf telephone hotline 727-0000.

"We will try to make their worlds a little bit smaller. We will post these (pictures) almost everywhere so that the citizenry will have easy access to reference regarding the faces of these criminals," he said.

Reyes announced the names of the nine most wanted kidnappers in the country as unidentified men snatched a Chinese-Filipino boy in Muntinlupa City yesterday.

Chua’s abduction was the second kidnapping since the abduction of a 10-year-old Filipino-Chinese girl in Paco, Manila on Nov. 21.