"They can run, but they cannot hide. They will surely fall one by one as my men are now poised to neutralize this dreaded rob gang," Manila Police District (MPD) acting director Senior Superintendent Danilo Abarzosa said as he presented the suspects to media.
The arrest was the result of the intense sleuthing and surveillance by anti-theft and robbery operatives led by Chief Inspector Dominador Arevalo Jr. against suspected members of robbery gangs, Abarzosa added.
Recovered from suspects Edwin Gonzales, 34, and Russel John Guzman, 35, were a bolt cutter, three destroyed padlocks and four computer CPUs.
The suspects’ get-away vehicle, a red Tamaraw FX (UPJ-143), was also seized by the arresting team, led by Senior Inspector Edgar Carpio.
Arevalo said a set of license plates (UTG-367) was recovered inside the van. During interrogation, the suspects admitted those were the real license plates of the van. They removed and changed them to mislead lawmen.
Upon Arevalo’s instruction, Carpio and a group of handpicked officers conducted a surveillance operation for almost a week through the help of a civilian informant.
Their perseverance paid off the other day when they chanced upon the two suspects carrying the CPUs at the corner of Dagupan and Moriones streets in Tondo.
The suspects admitted robbing a Tondo establishment of its computers and CPUs by breaking into the office at night.
They said they took 12 CPUs, eight of which were delivered to their leader identified only as "Tokmol."
The suspects said they gained entry into the establishments by destroying padlocks.
Arevalo formed a team of operatives to hunt down the leader and other members of the gang.