Five arrested for kidnapping embassy staff

The Philippines National Police on Thursday arrested a dismissed soldier and four of his companions in connection with the abduction of a German Embassy employee in Manila, and her Brazilian husband.

The couple were abducted from a resort in Bontoc and Sagada towns in northern Luzon in April. Reports said five of 10 Filipino suspects were arrested during a raid on the home of one of the suspects 50 km north of Baguio, the country's summer capital.

Regional police chief, superintendent George Alino, said the arrested suspects would be charged with kidnapping Claudia Melo and her husband Jose, who were vacationing in Tabuk. They will also be charged with the murder of Leopoldo Perez, the driver of a van they rented when they planned the abduction.

The suspects were identified as Clary Agcon, 29, an ex-Army man, Redentor Butic, 21, Vicente Baguiwan, 29, Joey Sarnnadan, 32, and Jim Dayagon, 30.

During the raid, the police seized grenades and the licence plates of stolen cars, said Alino.

The police announced a $10,000 reward for the arrest of the gang leader Robert Dago and for each of the remaining five suspects.

The police succeeded in its campaign because another driver used by the group in its criminal activity was arrested and began revealing the names of those who were involved in kidnapping and robbery, said Alino.

The suspects belong to two robbery groups called the Kalinga Gang and the Ifugao Gang. They engage in robbing and holding up people who pass through the isolated mountain roads between Banaue, Bontoc and Sagada.