BUTUAN CITY — The Claver Municipal Police disclosed on Sunday that its operatives prevented the kidnapping of two protection agents of Claver Mining Development Company in a predawn attack in the Surigao del Norte town.

Claver municipal police chief Lt. Mark Son Almerañez said they responded to a distress call about the presence of armed men forcibly taking some employees of the CMDC in Barangay Cagdianao.

Two of the detained employees, a 29-year-old male, and a 51-year-old female, were taken to a waiting transportation van while the others were not allowed to leave the CMDC premises.

All victims were secured by the responding cops.

Meantime, the suspects were identified as van driver Jason Duyag Yu, a resident of Barangay Taguibo, Butuan City; a certain Juanito Ligtas; and two other unidentified individuals.

Among the four suspects, it was only Yu who was later arrested by the 2nd Surigao del Norte Mobile Force Company at a checkpoint while 14 others who detained the mining firm employees were also arrested by the local police.

Two .45 caliber pistols were seized from the suspects.