A POLICE dragnet operation in Davao City last Sunday led to the rescue of a 16-year-old girl who was allegedly abducted by a group of men, Police Regional Office 11 (PRO11) Director Brigadier General Benjamin H. Silo Jr. said.

The Southern Mindanao Police director said the teenage student was successfully returned to her mother in Davao City following her rescue.

Before the rescue of the teenager, her father went to the San Pedro Police Station in Davao City to report the incident. The man said that his daughter told him during their cellphone conversation that the suspects “forced” her to board a pickup truck, which was heading towards Calinan Road.

Silo said that after receiving the complaint, the Davao City Police Office flashed an alarm to intercept the occupants of a blue Ford Raptor pickup.

Around 11:59 p.m. last Sunday, crew members of two Davao City Police mobile cars intercepted the pickup and a red Toyota Innova along Purok 35 in Lagato Villave, Calinan Poblacion.

When checked, one of the vehicles yielded the abducted teenager prompting the lawmen led by Master Sergeant Den Sali and Staff Sgt. Arvin Pasmala to place the four suspects under arrest.

The four suspects from Bgy. Maa, Davao City are now being held at the San Pedro Police Station 2 facing criminal complaints, the official said.

Silo also reported to Philippine National Police Chief Gen. Rodolfo S. Azurin Jr. the arrest of the three “most wanted persons” (MWPs) in the region.

He said that one of the three MWPs, tagged as one of the top 10 most wanted men in Davao City, was arrested on Monday evening in his residence in Nacilla Village in Ma-a area on the strength of a warrant of arrest for three counts of lascivious conduct in relation to Republic Act 7610 or the anti-child abuse law.

Judge Dante Baguio of the Davao City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 12 recommended a total of P600,000 bail for the temporary liberty of the accused.

The 2nd suspect with the alias “Kumander BJ”, a former New People’s Army (NPA) leader wanted for a non-bailable murder case, was tracked down in his hiding place in Lower Lahi in Bgy. Magnaga in Pantukan, Davao de Oro, on the same day.

Silo said that members of the Mati Municipal Police Station (MPS), led by Maj. Al Anthony Gumban arrested the suspect with the assistance of officers from the Army’s 10th Infantry Division led by Capt. Geovanni Tabanao and the PRO11 Regional Mobile Force Battalion (RMFB) under Capt. Andy Ray Geronilla.

The PRO11 director said that Judge Angelita Alfonso-Tumanda of the Mati City RTC Br. 5 ordered the arrest of the accused on August 18, 2021. The suspect is now locked-up at the Mati Police jail.

The 3rd suspect, another MWP in Davao City, was arrested based on a warrant for two counts of lascivious conduct issued by Judge Zara Aguisando-Silvosa of the Davao City RTC Br. 33 last September 19.

The suspect’s bail bond was pegged at P400,000. He is now being held at the Talomo Police lock-up facility, Silo said.