Burglars hit Internet café

CEBU, Philippines -  Two people were taken into police custody following a burglary at an Internet café early yesterday morning in Barangay Lahug.

Taxi driver Jose Veloso, 47, and automotive shop caretaker Marcelo Hortezuela, 50, were accosted by police, but Veloso was later released while authorities search for the man who stole 12 Central Processing Units from the Kly-kly.com Internet Café.

Veloso, driver of Airland Taxi with license plates GXF-801, said a man flagged him down in Lahug past 4 a.m. and asked to be taken to Barangay Lorega along with the 12 CPUs.

“Ana ko ‘dili man na mupaigo’. Ingon sad siya ‘mupaigo lagi ni, pakapinan lang taka’. Misugot na lang ko ka’y syempre pakapinan gud. Among gisakay ang iyang karga sa sakyanan. Sakay siya sa front seat then diretso mi Lorega,” the driver told The FREEMAN.

When they reached the place, they waited for about 10 minutes for a man who swapped places with his passenger.

“Ana ko ‘ang bayad ani dong?’ Kadto ra daw laki na nakig-swap niya ang mubayad, unya nagpahatod ang maong laki sa Mandaue,” he said. After they got there he left after he was paid P300 by his passenger.

He just arrived home from his driving shift in Sitio Maracas, Lahug, when policemen came and told him that someone reported that his taxi carried stolen CPUs. 

Meanwhile, Hortezuela said he just woke up and saw the CPUs piled on the wall of the shop owned by his employer, Jose Gapas. He then saw Veloso’s passenger whom he identified as Arman Lauron, their technician for about six years now.

Lauron allegedly told him to just turn over the CPUs to someone who would later claim them.

“Wa ra pud ko pag-ingon niya ato ka’y naanad na man ko ana niya magdala sa shop og bisan unsa nga mga gamit na iyang ipang-repair. Minglakaw ko palit og pan,” he said

He said he was walking back to the shop when he saw policemen looking for him. He was taken to the police station for questioning and was not yet released as of press time.

Cebu City Police Theft and Robbery Section head Chief Insp. Bonifacio Garciano said they released Veloso yesterday afternoon after being convinced he did not participate in the crime.

He said Hortezuela will face further investigation while they conducted a follow-up operation in some places in the city yesterday.

Jeryl Cabibil, 30, owner of the Internet café, went to the police station yesterday to claim the items which cost P15,000 each.

Garciano said a man witnessed two men, including the one who flagged down the taxi, burglarizing the Internet café. The witness wrote down the cab’s plate number and called the police.

Meanwhile, another salesman of a bottling company was robbed by two men on a motorcycle in Sitio Baca, Barangay Apas yesterday afternoon.

The latest victim was Demetrio Jaos, a salesman of the Pepsi-Cola Bottling Company.

In a television report, Jaos was about to eat at a eatery when two men on a motorcycle rode up and one of them pointed a gun at him while declaring a hold-up.

The victims immediately handed over his wallet which contained over P25,000.

The robbers, who were both wearing helmets and shirts wrapped around their faces, then sped off.

Adelina Gutierrez, another storekeeper, said one of the robbers still went to her store and pretended to buy bananas.

Another witness said he saw when the robbers arrived and went to the victim’s service van. They were about to go away when they spotted the victim at the eatery.

The victim was the fifth salesman victimized by robbers on motorcycles in the city this year, police said.  (FREEMAN)