Dipolog City (CNN Philippines) – The Police have identified five of the 10 suspects behind the kidnapping of former Italian missionary Rolando del Torchio, now a businessman in Zamboanga del Norte.
Senior Superintendent Cleve Taboso, chief of the Operation Division of Police Regional Office 9, told reporters on Sunday (October 11), the suspects who abducted del Torchio Wednesday night belong to the criminal group “Muloc” of the nearby town of Salug.
The group’s leader, Sehar Muloc or “Commander Red Eye,” was identified along with his father, brother, and two others through a closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage from the victim’s restaurant and by witnesses.
“Commander Red Eye” was arrested in 2014 for abduction but was freed after paying the bail bond, said Taboso.
The police are now gathering further details for the possible filing of case against the group, which was also involved in other crimes including kidnapping in Zamboanga Peninsula and Zamboanga del Norte, Taboso revealed.
Currently, authorities believe the kidnappers are still in the Siboco, Sirawai, Siocon and Baliguian or “Triple SB” area where joint police and military recovery operations are being conducted.
Del Torchio, 56, was abducted during the Santo Rosario fiesta inside his restaurant in Dipolog.
