Cops set sights on slain hijackers' financier

MANILA, Philippines - The Caloocan City police are zeroing in on the financier of a hijack group whose three members were killed in a shootout encounter Thursday.

“We are now focusing on the identification of the buyer or financier of the group here in Caloocan,” city police chief Senior Superintendent Jude Santos told The STAR yesterday.

Santos said the slain hijackers had already “delivered the goods” to their contact before they were intercepted by the police.

At least eight armed men hijacked a cargo truck laden with 15 tons of steel bars along C-3 Road and dumped the truck driver and two helpers on an isolated street. The truck had just picked up its load from a steel plant in Manggahan, Pasig City and was on its way to the Baseco Compound in Manila.

Two hours later, police officers on patrol spotted the speeding truck along 8th Avenue. The lawmen tried to flag down the vehicle, but its occupants shot at them.

In the ensuing firefight three of the hijackers – Randy Mendiola, Lazaro Herrera, and Rey Gonzales – were killed and five others escaped.

Santos said Herrera, who doubled as a gun-for-hire, is the sub-group leader of the notorious Ozamis crime group “that engaged in kidnap for ransom, bank robbery, hijacking, and also gunrunning.” – Pete Laude