‘Sayyaf member’ falls in failed Cebu extort

CEBU — Police trapped and arrested at a resort in Compostela a businessman who allegedly pretended to be an Abu Sayyaf member as he took payment of what he thought was P300,000 in protection money from a Japanese investor last Monday.

A joint police team from Mandaue City and the provincial police nabbed Jangen Fernandez, who owns a company named JZR Builders in Talisay City, at the Estaca Bay Garden Resort.

Fernandez, 31, whom police said uses aliases such as Roel Abarquez and Abdul Omar, used to do construction work for Shigero Onoda and his company, the Free Riders International Corp., a manufacturer of buttons for export based in Mandaue City.

Last Nov. 8, Onoda reported to the Mandaue police that he received a letter signed by a certain Abu Rascal, who claimed to be a member of the Abu Sayyaf, demanding P300,000 to P500,000 in protection money from him.

Police from the Opao station headed by Restituto Grado promptly ordered an investigation.

Grado also planted a female police officer, Rowena Peñaflor, in the Japanese firm to snoop around if the one who sent the demand letter was an insider.

Last Sunday, the letter sender called up Onoda in his office and Peñaflor was able to record their conversation.

In that conversation, the caller instructed Onoda to deliver the money to a certain Abdul Omar at Estaca Bay Garden Resort, specifying that the money must be placed in a cellophane bag topped with fruits and delivered by the company driver on Monday afternoon at the resort.

Since the amount demanded was huge, police only used P2,500 to cover bundles of plain paper.

The driver did as was told and delivered the money to the resort. He was referred to Room 606, registered under the name Roel Abarquez.

As soon as the driver did his part, police then broke into the room and accosted the man inside who, after verification of his driver’s license, turned out to be Jangen Fernandez.

The resort’s front desk explained to the police that Fernandez, or Abarquez, left a note that said "Room 606, Abdul Omar." This was the reason why Onoda’s driver was referred to that room when he inquired about that Muslim-sounding name.

To the surprise of Onoda later, the man police brought to the station with them was somebody he knew. Fernandez has transacted business with Onoda before.

Onoda said he personally knew Fernandez because he has engaged the services of his firm for some contractual jobs at his company.

Fernandez told police that he, indeed, knew Onoda, but denied masterminding the extortion. — Freeman News Service