Cedric Lee Arrested after days into Hiding, Cornered in Samar Province
Cedric Lee was finally arrested after days into hiding but one suspect is enjoying outside the Philippines.
The search for the fugitive businessman, Cedric Lee, came to an end on Saturday morning, April 26, 2014. After days into hiding, he was arrested in the vast coconut fields in Eastern Samar. Another prime suspect identified as Simeon Raz was also cornered during the operation.
According to reports, the collaboration of three government agencies led to the arrest of the suspects behind the controversial mauling of TV host and actor Vhong Navarro last January 22, 2014. The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) was constantly coordinating with local police and requested them to help track the whereabouts of Cedric Lee. The personnel of Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP) were also asked to help the NBI.
Cedric and Simeon were reportedly hopping to several locations to evade the arrest. The suspects went to Quezon, Bicol, then they headed to Sorsogon and went all the way to Eastern Samar. However, the successful coordination of the agencies led to the arrest of Cedric Lee and Simeon Raz at 11:15 a.m. in a remote area in the town of Oras, the ABS-CBN news reports.
In a statement, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said that Lee and Raz will be placed at the detention facility of NBI in Manila.
"Dadalin sila sa Manila, sa NBI. In the meantime, doon muna sila sa NBI detention facility and we will await the commitment order from the RTC [Regional Trial Court] Taguig. Ang RTC Taguig ang magdedesisyon kung saan talaga sila dapat ilagay pending the arraignment, pending the trial of the case," she said.
Lee went into hiding after learning the arrest warrants for grave coercion and serious illegal detention were issued by the Taguig Regional Trial Court. He probably evaded the arrest since the offense of serious illegal detention is non-bailable.
Meanwhile, another major suspect identified as Jose Paolo Calma was able to slip from the authorities and purportedly left the country on April 10, 2014. As of press time, the suspect remains at large.
UPDATE#1: As of 8:45 a.m. MNL time. Cedric and Simeon arrived in Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) terminal 3 at 7:43 a.m. today. They were escorted by NBI officers. According to reports, both suspects were handcuffed during the flight.