A mobile phone with text messages hinting at collecting ransom money from relatives of a kidnap victim was among the evidence the Southern Police District (SPD) got against a man they caught red-handed early yesterday morning carrying a bag containing P500,000 in ransom money.
Chief Insp. Jenny Tecson, SPD spokesperson, identified the suspect as Lemuel Puson, 25, of La Trinidad, Benguet. He is now detained at the SPD Headquarters in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig.
Puson is one of the five suspects in the abduction of Amina Mangondatu, a 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 Ave. in Cubao, the place where the ransom was handed to him,” Tecson said in a telephone interview.
Puson, who was caught after getting the ransom money at around 3:30 a.m. on Saturday, was positively identified by Mangondatu as among those who abducted her. She 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 meet-up point, and affirming he was already in the place.
Tecson said the suspect 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. on Friday.