By Sandra Dibble
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
February 1, 2008
TIJUANA – Two real estate agents kidnapped last month and held captive in a
residential
area were found Wednesday by Baja California state agents.
The victims, both female, were abducted Jan. 19 after showing a property in the
coastal
development of San Antonio del Mar in southern Tijuana, according to a statement
from
the Baja California Attorney General's Office.
The women, who were not named, were accosted by three assailants who initially
demanded a payment of $300,000 for one victim and $50,000 for the other, the
statement
said. Family members informed state officials of the crime, prompting an
investigation by
Baja California's Organized Crime Unit.
Through telephone calls with the kidnappers, family members negotiated a payment
of
$27,000 and dropped off the cash Tuesday at a location in Tijuana, according to
the
Attorney General's Office. But the kidnappers did not release the victims
Wednesday, as
they had agreed, the statement said.
By tracking the vehicle used to pick up the cash, agents questioned the driver,
Alejandro
Cárdenas Naranja, who authorities said confessed to participating in the
kidnapping. He
led them to a residence where the women were being kept, in a development called
Villas
de Santa Fe.
At the house, agents arrested three other suspects: José Luis Pulido Contreras,
33, Gabriel
Vázquez González, 26, and Erick Ramírez Abarca, 19. The agents seized weapons,
ski
masks, a bulletproof vest and a 1998 Ford Ranger.
The suspects were still being questioned late yesterday, but the statement said
they had
confessed to 14 crimes linked to kidnapping and homicides.
Both victims are Mexican citizens, although one is married to a U.S. citizen,
said an official
of the Baja California Attorney General's Office, who spoke on condition of
anonymity
because the case remains under investigation. A spokeswoman said late yesterday
that
both women were residents of Rosarito Beach.
Baja California Attorney General Rommel Moreño Manajarrez said in the statement
that
both victims were in good health.DENNIS - 2-4-2008 at 07:46 PM
makana.gabriel.......
Welcome to BajaNomad and thanks for the info.bajaboolie - 2-4-2008 at 09:13 PM
Wow, they confessed to 14 other kidnappings and homicides. Good catch. There's a happier ending.BajaDanD - 2-4-2008 at 09:16 PM
Waterboarded into confessingbajaguy - 2-4-2008 at 09:29 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by BajaDanD
Waterboarded into confessing
DanD.....that is so inhumane. I think we should serve them tea, crackers and jam....followed by a firehose up their nose and an electric drill to
their kneecaps (from the back to the front)!!!!bajasol - 2-5-2008 at 04:07 AM
That's a very sad story. Imagine if you were the woman who's ransom was $50,000 and your friend was $300,000. "WHAT AM I, CHOPPED LIVER?"
At least they are safe and the guys were caught.
Thanks for the news.
Mikeislandmusicteach - 2-5-2008 at 08:20 PM
DianaT - 2-5-2008 at 08:29 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by grover
There's an old comic routine where the husband says "keep her; I'm sick of her" and the bad guys keep lowering the price like a beach vendor.
"Won't you even give me $10,000 pesos for her?"
Like the funny, funny movie, Ruthless People when Danny DeVito won't pay the ransom for Bette Midler and as the price keeps being lowered, her famous
line, Ï've been kidnapped by K-Mart".
