Cosmetics dealer released by kidnappers after 4 months

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines — Suspected Abu Sayyaf bandits freed beauty products dealer Sabrina Ikbala Voon on Tuesday after holding her in captivity for more than four months, the police said.

Senior Superintendent Angelito Casimiro, Zamboanga City’s chief of police, said Voon, 29, was released by her captors along the shore of Barangay (village) Baliwasan around noon.

“From there, she boarded a tricycle to take her home but along the way, she spotted the family’s helpers buying foodstuff at a market in Barangay Guiwan, and so she alighted from the tricycle and approached the helpers. They were the ones who took her home on board the family’s pickup vehicle,” Casimiro said.

It was not known if any ransom was paid for Voon’s release. Her kidnappers had demanded P5 million in ransom.

Voon was abducted on February 19 by a group of Abu Sayyaf gunmen based in Basilan  and Zamboanga Sibugay from her home on Pojoc Drive in Barangay Mercedes here, said Chief Inspector Arthur Valdez of the Anti-Kidnapping Group.

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