9 heists in Metro point to Alvin Flores gang

MANILA, Philippines - At least nine bigtime heists in Metro Manila and its neighboring province were staged by the Alvin Flores gang this year alone, police said yesterday.

The National Capital Region Police Office is collating all evidence prior to the filing of robbery with homicide charges against gang members, Dennis Serquina and Warlito Rodriquito, alias Wallet.

NCRPO chief Director Roberto Rosales said they are coordinating with other police units where the Alvin Flores gang struck so they could file additional charges and eventually make sure that Serquina and Rodriquito could not post bail. “We are able to trace some of the cases they were involved in through our files of tapes from surveillance cameras of establishments they robbed,” said Rosales, noting that Serquina was sighted in several heists.

The NCRPO has a tight case against Serquina and Rodriquito and Rosales expects them to stay longer in jail.

According to Rosales, Rodriquito was a former member of the Scout Ranger Class ’35 and Special Action Force (SAF) of the Philippine Army, but went absent without leave (AWOL) in 1993. He, too, was a member of the Army’s bomb squad. Serquina applied as a security guard but choose instead to be the security of Rodriquito and eventually joined him in his nefarious activities.

Rosales said the gang was responsible for the robberies at the Park Trade Center in Alabang, and ATM booth at the South Luzon Expressway Shell gas station, both in Muntinlupa City; Suy Sing warehouse and gas depot, both in Parañaque City; ATM booth in North Expressway in Pampanga; a shopping mall in Harrizon Plaza in Manila; Walter Mart shopping Center in EDSA, Quezon City; Semicon building in Pasig City, and the Greenbelt 5 Mall in Makati City.

Superintendent Boyet Samala, intelligence chief of the Southern Police District said the gang took P3 million in the Park Trade robbery, and P2.8 million in the ATM booth SLEX heist. Samala said an informant claimed Serquina participated in the nine bigtime heists while Rodriquito claimed he was involved in only two cases. Both Serquina and Rodriquito received P110,000 as their share of the loot in the Park Trade robbery while only P20,000 in the ATM booth heist.

Rosales said Serquina and Rodriquito were given P21,000 as their share of the loot in the Greenbelt 5 Mall robbery. It was Alvin Flores who handed out their share of the loot to the gang members, after taking out expenses like the purchase of getaway vehicles and the rent of firearms used in the robbery.

Rosales admitted they were able to pinpoint the exact location of Serquina and Rodriquito through an informant, who decided to help him bust the Alvin Flores gang in exchange for the P500,000 reward. He said the informant led operatives of the NCRPO’s intelligence division, regional police intelligence operation unit and SPD in the suspected safehouses of the Alvin Flores gang in Bulacan, Pampanga, Pangasinan and Nueva Ecija.

It was in two Bulacan safehouses where the raiders headed by Samala, recovered black t-hirts with “police” markings, combat boots, a .45 caliber pistol, and a 9mm machine pistol.