QC cops raid car thieves’ den

Quezon City Police District (QCPD) operatives raided a suspected lair of car thieves in Project 8 yesterday and recovered two stolen vehicles that had been dismantled for spare parts.

Chief Inspector Rodolfo Jaraza, head of the QCPD-District Investigation Unit (QCPD-DIU), said no one was around when the team raided a compound on Accounting street, GSIS Village in Project 8.

"We are still conducting hot pursuit operations. We are confident we can arrest the suspects," Jaraza told The STAR.

He said his team earlier identified one suspect and had been tracking him down for several days.

A surveillance led them to the compound, which was being used as a dismantling area for cars stolen in the city.

Jaraza said his team discovered two Nissan Exalta sedans. Parts from the cars and previously dismantled vehicles littered the compound. Raiders also recovered dozens of license plates.

An owner-type jeep was discovered in another part of the compound.

According to barangay captain Dennis Caboboy, residents in the area had reported to him the presence of suspicious looking men occupying an previously abandoned house in the area.

The house occupied by the car thieves had been subject to court litigation and was abandoned pending the resolution of a dispute over the property.

Jaraza did not disclose other details of the police operation, but said they are closing in on the suspects.

QCPD director Chief Superintendent Nicasio Radovan said they intensified patrols in the city to address the rising problem of car theft and carjacking incidents in the past weeks.

At least seven luxury vehicles and SUVs have been forcibly taken by armed men in the last few weeks. In one incident, a doctor was shot when he resisted an attempt to take his SUV at a gas station.

Radovan said the QCPD has set up permanent checkpoints at carjacking prone areas.

Quezon City Mayor Feliciano Belmonte Jr. earlier directed the QCPD to give priority to car theft cases, which have been reported at commercial districts as well as major highways in the city.