MANILA, Philippines -- A mismatched plate number on an old Toyota Revo led to an encounter between suspected members of a kidnap-for-ransom group and police operatives in Quezon City early Wednesday.

All four men aboard the Revo were killed when they shot it out with operatives from the Quezon City Police District and Philippine National Police-Highway Patrol Group.

Inspector Angelo Nicolas, head of the city’s anti-car theft unit, said they spotted the green Revo on Quezon Avenue and Roosevelt Avenue at around 2:50 a.m.

He said they got suspicious because the Revo was quite old but its plate number, ZFW 363, was new and registered to a new vehicle.

“We flagged down the Toyota Revo… but it did not stop and instead sped off,” Nicolas said.

The lawmen then gave chase and were fired at when they gained on the suspects upon reaching Elliptical Road. The lawmen then fired back, killing the suspects, Nicolas said.

He said the suspects were about to carry out an abduction of a Chinese-Filipino who lives in the area where they were spotted by patrolling operatives.

“The group was already prepared to take their target because they are armed and had sufficient manpower to move in,” Nicolas said.

He explained that usually, if the suspects are still casing a target, kidnappers do not do it in groups and usually do not carry firearms.

Nicolas refused to identify the target, saying he was not in a position to talk about it, and besides, it would cause undue alarm to the family.

He identified the slain suspects as Calvin Lagado, Emelito Comia, Rex Mirafuente and Joel Esguerra.

He disclosed that Comia, Mirafuente and Esguerra were dead on the spot.

Lagado, he said, was declared dead on arrival at the East Avenue Medical Center.

Nicolas said all the slain suspects had criminal records with the Police Anti-Crime Emergency Response Unit (Pacer).