Cops nab 8 armed men at checkpoint

A checkpoint conducted by elements of the Central Police District (CPD) snared eight persons carrying assorted firearms yesterday in Quezon City.

PO1 Alden Lasam, of the CPD-Station 6 in Batasan, identified the apprehended individuals as Eric Ignacio, 25, Rafael Santos, 24, Ramil Oliva, 25, Mariano Garcia, 24, and Ronnie Garcia, 20, all of Montalban, Rizal; Joven Bartulay, 44, of Barangay Banlat, Quezon City; Rey Francisco, 20, of Norzagaray, Bulacan; and Inocentes Dahang, 59, of Barangay Payatas.

They were arrested at around 2 a.m. at a checkpoint in Barangay Payatas.

According to police, the group was on board a Ford Fierra with license plate BAU-416 when flagged down by lawmen at a checkpoint along Molave street.

A customary search on the vehicle led to the discovery of firearms inside the van. The guns were seized while the eight men were arrested and brought to the police station for tactical interrogation.

However, police said the suspects failed to explain why they were carrying firearms or where they were headed with the weapons. The suspects even denied being owners of the seized guns.

Lasam said police confiscated three caliber .45 pistols; a Magnum .357 revolver; several rounds of assorted bullets‚and two M-16 automatic rifles with magazines and ammunition.

Police said the eight would be charged with illegal possession of firearms and would be subsequently turned over to the Philippine National Police (PNP) general headquarters in Camp Crame or the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines for additional tactical questioning.

In Malabon, four armed men, including three teenagers, were arrested after a woman they held up reported her ordeal to the authorities the other day.

Senior Superintendent Sosefino Teofisto, Malabon police chief, identified the suspects as Jerry Tamayo, 27, and the three minors, all residents of Dagat-Dagatan Avenue, Malabon.

Police records showed the suspects were collared in a follow-up operation at around 3:30 Monday afternoon at a house along Dagat-Dagatan Avenue.

Victim Criselda Capili, 21, single, of Hasa-Hasa street, Dagat-Dagatan, told probers she was about to board a tricycle when the suspects blocked her path, and at knifepoint, forcibly took her shoulder bag which contained cash, a cell phone and other valuables. The bag was then passed on to one of the younger suspects who acted as lookout.

After securing the loot, the suspects ran toward Block 17. Residents later told police the whereabouts of the suspects, who were known in the area as troublemakers. The police later arrested the surprised suspects in their safehouse. – With Jerry Botial, Pete Laude