Gunmen kidnap bizman

FIVE unidentified gunmen have kidnapped a 42-year-old businessman in a west coast village of Zamboanga City, a top police official said.

Senior Superintendent Edwin de Ocampo, Zamboanga City police chief, said the incident took place around 7:30 p.m. Friday in the village of Maasin.

De Ocampo identified the victim as Edgar Fabella, who owns and manages an eatery and a general merchandise store.

Police investigation showed that the victim was seating inside his eatery when the three gunmen arrived and seized him.

One of the three gunmen has disembarked from a motorized banca that just landed at the shore, which is just across the victim’s eatery, he said.

The other two suspects were driving motorcycles and were seen in the place several minutes before the motorized banca arrived with three people aboard.

They forcibly dragged the victim to the motorized banca that sped towards the direction of Basilan province.

Two of the five suspects returned to their motorcycles and sped towards north direction of Maasin village.

Mayor Celso Lobregat has convened on Saturday the Crisis Management Committee and activated Task Force Edgar to handle the abduction case of Fabella.

The task force has been ordered to find solution leading to the safe release of Fabella as well as to identify the suspects and file criminal charges against them.