Kidnap syndicate’s negotiator nabbed

The alleged negotiator of the so-called "Villaver gang" linked to several high-profile kidnappings for ransom last year, has been arrested in his safehouse in Pastrano, Leyte.

The suspect, Nicomedes Gerillas, alias Mike Dizon, was presented to President Arroyo during a press conference at Camp Crame yesterday afternoon, along with Randy Raquino, Central Luzon’s most wanted man who was nabbed in Baguio City last Friday.

Philippine National Police chief Director General Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. said operatives of the Police Anti-Crime Emergency Response (PACER) cornered Gerillas in Barangay Jones in Pastrana, Leyte last Aug. 10. He yielded a caliber .45 pistol and a pair of handcuffs.

Ebdane said Gerillas was the key negotiator of the Villaver kidnapping syndicate, a sub-group of the notorious "Fajardo gang."

The gang’s leader, Rolando Villaver, and two of his henchmen were arrested late last year. Three others surrendered, while three more were killed in an encounter in Marilao, Bulacan.

But Ebdane said, "Our manhunt operations for all identified members of the group continue."

Meanwhile, Raquino, a former Marine, faces charges of robbery, murder, homicide and rape. There was a P300,000 reward for his arrest.

He was dismissed from the military service for his alleged direct role in several crimes, including the heist at the Bank of Philippine Islands branch in Paniqui, Tarlac in March last year where the bank manager and a security guard were killed. — With Christina Mendez