105 rounded up in Sta. Cruz, Quiapo anti-crime drive

MANILA, Philippines - Police rounded up at least 105 persons over the weekend in suspected lairs of crime groups in Quiapo and Sta. Cruz districts in Manila.

“The nightly round-ups were part of the police preemptive measures to make the opening of classes orderly and peaceful,” Sta. Cruz police station chief Superintendent James Afalla said.

The round-ups were conducted on crime-prone streets of Palanca, Avenida, Oroquieta, Recto and Quiapo with the assistance of respective barangay officials, he said.

Twelve of the 105 persons were found to have pending criminal cases and were booked for vagrancy pending final verification of their records from the courts. The remaining 93 were released to their respective barangay chairmen, Afalla said.

He has also started distributing to commuters and residents flyers and tips on how to prevent crimes from happening. The leaflets also contained the phone numbers of law enforcement agencies for easy access.  

Meanwhile, 17 suspected pickpockets and snatchers, including five women, were detained by operatives of the theft and robbery section of the Manila Police District after they were arrested while loitering around the University Belt in Sampaloc and Taft Avenue.

“These are the persons whose faces are familiar to the police due to their past incursions with law enforcement agencies. Though they were not caught in the act of doing criminal activities, logic dictates that sooner or later they will strike at their target victims when the opportunity arises,” said Chief Inspector Edgardo Carpio, who heads the theft and robbery section.

The detained suspects told The STAR that they had been previously arrested for picking pockets and snatching, but denied planning any criminal activities.