Former Aviation Security Command Member arrested as Prime Suspect in Alleged Kidnapping ..

An alleged kidnapping group was believed to have been busted before noon on Friday with the arrest of a former military sergeant and two others for allegedly kidnapping an Indian trader and demanding P5-million ransom for his release in an operation in San Jose del Monte, Bulacan, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) said on Friday. 

The NBI Anti-Organized Crime Division (AOCD) engaged the suspects in one hour chase before subduing them.

NBI Director Magtanggol Gatdula identified the suspects as Staff Sergeant Leo Vince Acapullco, formerly of the defunct Aviation Security Command (Avsecom); Rommel Anito, and Funtalon Calvito. They are all linked to the kidnap of Gurpreet Singh alias Michael, 31, of Area A, Camarin, Caloocan City, who was later rescued.

They are now undergoing interrogation at the NBI main office on Taft Avenue, Manila.

They were found in possession of a .9 mm pistol and Uzi machinegun.  

NBI operatives also seized from Acapullco and Anito Bureau of Immigration (BI) identification cards. They are still checking if IDs are genuine or fake. 

The NBI arresting team also brought Orsosino Fosana, Julian Billon, Mandy Partidas, Fernando Rodriguez, and Philman Pullido to the NBI main office to shed light on the incident. 

Gatdula said Singh bore bruises in both wrists. He also sustained welt marks in his neck since a rope was also looped around his neck after he was forcibly taken by the suspects.  

He was in handcuffs during the duration of his captivity inside a comfort room inside a house in Bulacan.

Based on sketchy reports, the victim, who engaged in a money-lending business, was kidnapped by the suspects last October 9 in Bagong Silang, Caloocan City.  

The following day, a suspect called up a member of the victim’s family and demanded P5 million for his release.

The victim’s family haggled for the amount until the suspects agreed to reduced it to P400,000.

The suspects then instructed the victim’s family to take the money somewhere on Tungko highway. They were also warned not to report the incident to authorities if they still want to see the victim alive.

But the victim’s family sought the assistance of Gatdula who immediately ordered an entrapment.

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