Owner of van used in Dipolog kidnapping taken for questioning

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines – Police took into custody the owner of the getaway van used by the gunmen who kidnapped former Italian missionary Rolando del Torchio in Dipolog City last Wednesday.

Provincial police director Supt. Redentor Retosto said Amante Bagain Sadario, 49, a resident of Pagadian City, Zamboanga del Norte, was taken for questioning after authorities traced the ownership of the getaway vehicle found abandoned hours after the kidnapping.

Retosto said a Mitsubishi Versa van with license plate TMY 490 which was used by the gunmen in the snatch and later abandoned was traced to Sagadio.

Retosto said Sagadio is under investigation on suspicions of being an accessory in the kidnapping of Del Torchio.

Sources earlier revealed the van was registered in the name of Amante Bagain Sagario, of Lot 6, BB Katipunan Village, Taguig City.

Sources also said the kidnappers are led by Saher Muloc, alias Commander Red Eye, the alleged chief of the Provincial Police Force of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front’s 113th Base Command operating in the towns of Lanao del Norte.

Muloc and his son Julmin, a suspected trafficker of drugs, were among the 10 gunmen identified in the video taken inside the pizza restaurant owned and operated by Del Torchio.