QCPD: Armed men who robbed soda warehouse likely former cops

The Quezon City Police District yesterday said the armed men who recently robbed the warehouse of two soda companies could be former military or police personnel or might have had military training.

Superintendent Franklin Moises Mabanag, chief of the QCPD-Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit, also said they are now looking into the armed men’s possible connivance with present or former employees of RC Cola and Zesto Cola, sister companies under Asiawide Refreshment Corp.

Mabanag said the suspects had clean haircut and were carrying grenades using bandoliers that he said are usually used by military men. “They projected themselves as policemen but we believe that they could be former policemen or military personnel or maybe they might have had some military training,” he told The STAR in an interview.

“But they are stupid because they did not know that there was a CCTV (close-circuit television) camera installed in that office,” he added.

According to Mabanag, 10 of the around 15 suspects – contrary to the earlier 20 reported – had their faces captured by the CCTV camera. He said they would not need artist’s sketches of the suspects, noting that they would just match the CCTV footage with pictures from among those included in the police’s rogue gallery.

Armed men posing as agents of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency staged the 30-minute robbery at past 2 a.m. Monday at the warehouse and remittance office of the two soda companies in Sitio Gitna, Barangay Nagkaisang Nayon, Novaliches and took away around P5.9 million.

Mabanag said it was impossible that the suspects were PDEA agents as they did not present any identification during the supposed “raid.” The police official also said they are eyeing the possible complicity of the employees of the soda companies.