MANILA, Philippines—Four people allegedly involved in the “snatching” of three Chinese nationals convicted for drug trafficking have been arrested in Cavite with the help of a recovered transaction receipt for a money courier service, police said Friday.
Chief Superintendent Benito Estipona identified the arrested suspects as Leovino Fontanilla, barangay captain of Luma village in Imus, Rodel Cambongga, Emiliano “Emil” Quilicol, and Rene “Dodo” Bersales.
Estipona said the arrest of the four stemmed from an LBC Pera Padala receipt that was recovered by investigators inside an abandoned white L300 van believed to have been used by the suspects as their get-away vehicle.
In a phone interview, Superintendent Alexander Rafael, Cavite provincial director, said investigators were sent to the LBC branch where the transaction was made to view the security camera footage in reference to the time of transaction written on the receipt.
“Dito kami nagkaroon ng mukha ng isa sa mga suspects,” Rafael said, pertaining to Cambongga who was said to be the same person that was earlier seen in a checkpoint.
“Siya yung hindi nagsasalita,” he added.
He said the transaction amounting to P1,000 was made to a certain Roy Blanco with the address in Bulacan Provincial Jail. It was not clear, however, if Blanco was an inmate there.
Estipona said Cambongga, a native of Ozamis, later confessed to be the “lookout’’ of the group and the one who accompanied a certain Ariel “Bokbok” Bondaon, in visiting Chinese national Li Lan Yan a.k.a Jackson Dy last February 16 at the provincial jail.
Li, along with Wang Li Na and Li Tian Hua, have been convicted earlier for drug trafficking. They were allegedly ‘’snatched’’ by Cambongga’s group around 10 a.m. on Wednesday while being escorted by Cavite City provincial jail guards to a court in Trece Martires town.
Estipona said Fontanilla allegedly served as “among the planners, recruiter/contact man . . . [and the one] who served as the caretaker of the firearms of the group.”
Estipona said recovered from the suspects were assorted firearms and hand grenades, adding one of the seized guns, a 9mm pistol, belonged to one of the jail guards who escorted the convicted Chinese nationals.
He said the provincial jail guards also positively identified the arrested suspects as among the armed men who ‘’snatched ‘’ the convicted Chinese nationals.
He said pursuit operations were ongoing for about 11 other suspects involved in the ‘’snatching’’ incident as well as for the three Chinese detainees.