A New York businessman kidnapped near Tucson Arizona and taken to Mexico has been located safely by Sonora Attorney General’s Office agents, the office announced Sunday in a statement.
The office said the businessman, identified only as Luis Ramón, was in Eloy, Arizona, about 60 miles southeast of Phoenix when he was kidnapped, put into the trunk of a vehicle and taken by several people to Nogales, Sonora.
The Sonora Attorney General’s Office said in the statement, which was translated from Spanish, that the FBI contacted them and requested assistance. The office worked with the Sonora Criminal Investigative Unit on an operation to rescue the man.
The organizations shared information and determined that the suspects traveled to Hermosillo, Mexico, after crossing the border.
Along the way, authorities said the suspects contacted the victim’s brother, demanding $500,000 in ransom money. But the brother said he could gather only $350,000, which he would do by selling several of his belongings.
Agents conducted a search operation and located a 2009 Honda in Hermosillo, where they found the businessman safely inside.
Officers also found a man, they identified only as Jose Antonio, inside the car, along with a handgun. The suspect, originally from Chihuahua, was arrested on suspicion of aggravated kidnapping and possession of a firearm. No ransom money was paid.
A call to the FBI seeking comment was not immediately returned Sunday night.
Kidnapping Capital of the U.S.A. – Phoenix Arizona
Brian Ross and ABC News report what officials caution is now a dangerous and even deadly crime wave. Phoenix, Arizona has become the kidnapping capital of America, with more incidents than any other city in the world outside of Mexico City and over 370 cases last year alone. But local authorities say Washington, DC is too obsessed with al Qaeda terrorists to care about what is happening in their own backyard right now.
“We’re in the eye of the storm,” Phoenix Police Chief Andy Anderson told ABC News of the violent crimes and ruthless tactics spurred by Mexico’s drug cartels that have expanded business across the border. “If it doesn’t stop here, if we’re not able to fix it here and get it turned around, it will go across the nation,” he said.
Source: azcentral, tucson.com, nationalterroralert.com
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