MANILA: A Philippine pastor wanted in the United States for child sex trafficking has been arrested, officials said Sunday, two weeks into a massive police manhunt.

"Apollo Quiboloy has been arrested," interior secretary Benjamin Abalos said on his official Facebook page without providing further details.

The politically connected pastor has also been charged with human trafficking in a Philippine court.

A self-proclaimed "Son of God" and ally of former president Rodrigo Duterte, Quiboloy is the founder of the Philippines-based Kingdom of Jesus Christ church that claims millions of members.

The US Justice Department charged Quiboloy in 2021 with sex-trafficking of girls and women between the ages of 12 and 25 to work as personal assistants, or "pastorals", who were allegedly required to have sex with him.

Brigadier-General Nicolas Torre, the regional police chief who led the manhunt at the sect's headquarters in the southern city of Davao, confirmed the arrest at a news conference.

Some 2,000 police were deployed at the sect's Davao headquarters on August 24 to serve an arrest warrant against Quiboloy, but Torre did not discuss details of the arrest.

"This is a concerted effort of everyone involved," Torre told reporters.

"Let's be proud. We did our job today."

  - AFP