Boy snatched in Tarlac, rescued in Bataan

BALANGA CITY, Bataan, Philippines – A 12-year-old boy who was snatched in Tarlac was rescued during a raid in Samal town in this province yesterday that also resulted in the arrest of two kidnap suspects.

Alvin Samar, 33, and his companion Freddie Aquilar, 29, were arrested at a duck farm in Barangay Gugo, said Senior Superintendent Melvin Ramon Buenafe, officer-in-charge of the Tarlac police.

Buenafe said Samar, a former Army scout ranger, was a leader of the Alvin Samar kidnap group, which has five members and operates in Tarlac and other provinces in Central Luzon.

The boy and his mother were in a car on their way to school when a group of masked men snatched the victim in Concepcion, Tarlac last Friday.

The kidnappers dragged the boy into their vehicle and sped away, leaving the mother handcuffed inside the car. An hour later, the victim’s family received a call from the kidnappers, who demanded P15 million for the boy's release.

Police managed to track down the suspects through the GPS (global positioning system)  in the victim's cell phone.

Police found the boy sleeping in a house at the duck farm at around 2:30 a.m.

Seized from the suspects were  a caliber .45 pistol, a 12-inch knife, two homemade shotguns and ammunition.

Buenafe said they would verify with the Highway Patrol Group if the suspects’ car was in the list of stolen vehicles.

Police have launched a manhunt for the other members of the group.