4 rob suspects shot in Malabon

Four suspected robbers armed with an Armalite rifle and handguns were killed during an alleged encounter with Northern Police District police officers before dawn yesterday in Malabon City.

The suspects  – two of whom were identified as Richard Buquid and Ricky Lozada – yielded three cartons of Smart pre-paid cards worth P4 million, which the police said may have been stolen.

The pre-paid cards were found in the luggage compartment of the suspects’ get-away vehicle, a carjacked white GCF taxi (PXH-466) owned by Joel Eugenio, 30, of Bulacan.

“These are members of a big-time criminal group based on the quality of firearms recovered and the value of the suspected stolen items seized from them,” NPD director Chief Superintendent Pedro Tango told The STAR.

As of yesterday, the NPD police officers were still trying to determine which criminal group the slain suspects belonged.

Senior Superintendent Rafael Santiago Jr., NPD-District Investigation and Detective Management Division chief, said that at around 6 p.m. Thursday, Navotas businessman Michael Cabigao reported to NPD-DIDM office that a certain Marlon of Quezon City offered him 1,000 cellphone and Internet pre-paid cards at a discount.

“The businessman was cautious because only recently he was able to purchase the same items only to find out that they were stolen and already of no use,” Santiago said.

The Navotas police set up an entrapment operation, in coordination with Malabon City police chief Senior Superintendent Roberto Villanueva, wherein Cabigao agreed to buy the items and instructed Marlon to meet him at a bar on MacArthur Highway in Barangay Potrero, Malabon at 2 a.m.

A crack team – composed of Senior Police Officers 2 Juanito Lazaro, Rande Tumbaga, Aurelio Arandia, and Wilson Vicente;  SPO1 Rosendo Paule; PO3s Vergel Nicolas, Edgar Clemente, Alexander Ibe, Robert Vecida, and Joselito Tayag; PO2s Cristobal Duque, Randy Veran and Alan Layugan; PO1s Fortunato Lacanlale and Jose Laxamana – led by Santiago and Chief Inspector Arturo Paras was dispatched to the area aboard two vehicles.

At around 2:50 a.m., a white taxi with four occupants arrived. Two men alighted but immediately returned to the vehicle, apparently sensing the presence of lawmen in the area.

They sped off towards Del Monte Avenue but upon reaching Araneta Avenue, the police cornered their vehicle. The taxi’s occupants fired at the police vehicle, hitting its right side. An exchange of gunfire ensued, resulting in the death of the four suspects.

The police recovered a .45 caliber pistol with bullets near the body of Buquid and another one near Lozada’s. The two unidentified suspects yielded an Armalite rifle and a .38 caliber revolver.

Rico Legaspi, 34, driver of the stolen taxi, said two of the suspects carjacked his cab on Letre Road, Malabon City and also robbed him of his P1,900 income an hour before the shootout.

Legaspi pointed to Buquid as the one who “grabbed my neck and pointed a gun at my head.” He said while he felt sorry for the suspects, “I think they deserved their fate.”