Kidnapped businessman rescued during police

Zamboanga City: Policemen rescued the owner of a bakeshop chain during a 20-minute raid that also resulted in the arrest of his abductors in a hideout in Zamboanga City, reports said.

Eliseo Hablo, 44, "looked haggard and frail as if he had not slept nor eaten for weeks when policemen found him inside a kidnappers' hideout in Upper Calarian village on Tuesday", said Colonel Mario Yanga, Zamboanga City's police chief who led the rescue operation.

"He was wearing freshly laundered shirt and pants when discovered by the policemen," said Yanga, adding, "the businessmen was relieved, grateful and thankful that he was released after more than 30 days in captivity."

Authorities and family members denied that 20 million pesos (Dh1.6 million) was given to the kidnappers for Hablo's release.

Policemen brought Hablo to a medical centre for treatment before he was turned over to his family.

His six kidnappers were about to escape from their lair when apprehended by policemen during the rescue operation. "They will be interrogated. We will know their leaders," vowed Yanga.

His family reported him missing on January 9. His van was later found abandoned near San Roque village in Zamboanga City.

After Hablo's abduction, he was immediately bought to Basilan City where he was hidden for sometime, as his kidnappers demanded ransom. Another set of abductors brought Hablo to Zamboanga City, to be turned over to his family, a plan that began late on Monday, sources told Gulf News.

Earlier, authorities said that Usman Lidjal, disgruntled leader of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), was the mastermind of Hablo's kidnappers.

But other sources said the kidnappers were members of the Al Qaida-linked Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG).

Some 13 people, including three aid workers (two of them foreigners), were kidnapped in three islands in the south, known as Abu Sayyaf lairs, from December 8, 2008 to February 4, 2009.

Four were released or have escaped as of yesterday, leaving nine more in the hands of their kidnappers.

- With inputs from Barbara Mae Dacanay, Manila Bureau Chief