By Mary Judaline Partlow

ARRESTED. The No. 1 most wanted carnapper in Central Visayas is placed behind bars following his arrest in the Negros Island Region on Sunday (March 16, 2025). Police said he is known for usually renting out a vehicle in Cebu and Bohol and not returning it. (Photo courtesy of Highway Patrol Group-Negros Oriental)

DUMAGUETE CITY – Law enforcement authorities here arrested Central Visayas’ most notorious carnapper following a manhunt, an official said Tuesday.

PEMS Aurelio Bodo, head of the Highway Patrol Group-Negros Oriental, said in an interview that the suspect was escorted back to Bohol after his arrest Sunday.

The suspect, who was using another name and carrying falsified documents, was “kind of difficult to trace because he changed his identity,” Bodo said.

The suspect is tagged as the No. 1 most wanted person by the Regional Highway Patrol Unit.

Apart from the Bohol case, the suspect is also facing another case in Cebu, Bodo said.

Bodo said the suspect was known to operate alone, usually renting out a vehicle and not returning it, a modus known as a “rent-tangay.”

In Cebu, the suspect allegedly applied as a family driver and took his employer’s vehicle to another province and disposed of it.

Bodo said they have to bring the suspect back to Bohol, where his warrant of arrest originated. (PNA)