Man caught red-handed with ransom money

MANILA, Philippines—A mobile phone with text messages hinting at collecting ransom money from relatives of a kidnap victim is among the evidence the Southern Police District has against a man they caught red-handed early Saturday carrying P500,000 in ransom he had just collected.

Chief Inspector Jenny Tecson, SPD spokesperson, identified the suspect as Lemuel Puson, 25, from La Trinidad, Benguet. Currently detained at the SPD Headquarters in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig, Puson is one of  five suspects in the abduction of Amina Mangondatu,  common-law wife of New Bilibid Prison inmate Romeo Tan.

“The suspect was arrested while he was riding a tricycle to get away from the gasoline station at the corner of EDSA and Main Avenue in Cubao, the place where the ransom was handed to him,” Tecson said in a telephone interview.

She noted that Puson, caught after getting the ransom money at around 3:30 a.m., was positively identified by Mangondatu as among those who abducted her. Amina was also rescued in the operation.

“The arrested suspect is the one who took the bag containing the P500,000 ransom money from Amina’s sister, Rosemia Tano, at the meet-up point,” Tecson added.

Among the items seized from Puson was a mobile phone with messages asking for the description of Amina’s sister, the meeting place, and affirming he was already at the site.

Tecson said Puson denied being part of the kidnap plan, saying he was just ordered to get something in the area, not knowing it was ransom money.

The SPD is conducting follow-up operations to arrest the four other suspects.

Police reports said that Mangondatu was abducted from her house in Muntinlupa City at around 11 a.m. Friday.

Later that day, her abductors texted Rosemia, demanding P4 million in ransom, which was lowered to P500,000 after much negotiation.

Rosemia then asked for help from the SPD,  and the operation to arrest the abductors was quickly planned.

“After Puson’s arrest, the police found Amina a few blocks away from where the suspect was arrested,” Tecson said. However, his accomplices were nowhere in sight.