4 hijackers killed in Tondo shootout

Four suspected hijackers were killed during a shootout with Manila policemen in Tondo past midnight yesterday.

The slain suspects were members of the notorious “Tatang Gang” believed responsible for a series of cargo truck hijackings, according to Manila Police District (MPD) director Chief Superintendent Roberto Rosales.

Rosales identified the suspects through documents recovered in their possession as Milagroso Rivas, alias Tatang Milo, 71, the alleged leader of the gang; Floro Galabin, 48; Roy Villocero, 32; and a still unidentified man aged about 35 years old.

Recovered from the slain suspects were one 12-gauge shotgun, two pistols and a fragmentation grenade.

According to homicide section head Chief Inspector Dominador Arevalo Jr. the four suspects hijacked a truck carrying a 20-foot container van loaded with flour for export inside the Manila International Container Port (MICP) at North Harbor.

One of the suspects drove the truck and dumped the driver at Road 10 near the Makro warehouse. The driver  reported the hijacking to police.

The MPD’s District Mobile Force Unit, led by Superintendent Jose Mario Espino, spotted the hijacked truck along Road 10 near the MICP terminal, but before they could get near the truck successive shots rang out.

Police officers retaliated, triggering a brief firefight. When the smoke cleared, the four suspects lay dead. There were no casualties among the lawmen.

The suspects sustained multiple gunshot wounds in the head and body, according to Arevalo. Empty shells from 9 mm pistols and M-16 rifles were recovered at the shootout site.

The truck driver identified the slain suspects as the same men who held him up and hijacked his van. The owner of the cargo verified the contents of the van to be intact.

Rosales said the MPD is gathering intelligence on the activities of other hijack groups operating in Manila.