'Kidnapping' baffles police
http://www.dailynews.com/Stories/0,1413,200~20954~2039299,00...
By Phillip W. Browne
A missing Santa Paula man suffering from epilepsy was the focus of an international search Wednesday after he was reportedly kidnapped from a Tijuana
nightclub, then held for ransom by a Mexican extortion and identity theft ring.
Nazario Castanon, 34, hasn't been seen since March 6, when he and his brother Luis became separated at Miami Bar in Tijuana during a weekend getaway.
Castanon's family soon began receiving ransom demands from a group that claimed to be holding him near San Diego.
A team composed of Santa Paula and Mexican police and the FBI have launched an investigation which has led to five arrests.
Authorities say they believe the ring is more involved in extortion than kidnapping, demanding money from American families for the safe return of
their relatives in Mexico even though the "victim" was never really abducted.
"That's what makes this case so strange -- where is Nazario?" said Santa Paula Police Detective Michelle Velasco. "From what we have discovered, they
are more scam artists than kidnappers. But they had detailed information about Nazario's medical condition and his life that led us to believe they
either kidnapped him or had some contact with him."
FBI officials are pursuing several theories.
"He could have had some contact with the suspects and is lost," said Randy Aden, supervisory special agent with the FBI's Ventura field office. "He
may have been abducted. He may have been abducted for a short time and abandoned. We just don't know.
"This is a fairly extensive scam. Several people across the country have received ransom demands from this group."
Following Castanon's disappearance, authorities monitored several phone calls between his family and the captors, but they were unable to talk to
Castanon or confirm he was alive.
His family decided to pay the ransom, which was picked up by a courier in San Ysidro.
The man who picked up the cash, Abel Rubio Flores, 38, was arrested March 17 on suspicion of extortion, Velasco said.
Since then, Mexican authorities have arrested four more people connected to the ring, Aden said. Their names were not immediately available.
So far, the FBI has documented at least five cases in which the same group has demanded ransom money from families in Ventura County, San Diego and
Nevada. They believe there may be more victims who may be afraid to come forward.
"We would very much like to talk to anyone who may have been victimized," Aden said.
Anyone with information about the case, or who knows the whereabouts of Castanon, is asked to call Detective Velasco at the Santa Paula Police
Department, (805) 933-4239; or Special Agent Kevin Kelly at the Ventura Field Office of the FBI, (805) 642-3995.
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