Robbers hit same jewelers at 2 malls

MANILA, Philippines - Investigators are eyeing the possibility that the persons who staged the jewelry heist at SM North EDSA on Sunday night could be the same ones who staged a similar robbery at SM Megamall earlier this year, an official said yesterday.

Quezon City Police District (QCPD) director Chief Superintendent Richard Albano noted that in both instances, display cases of F&C Jewelry and The Jeweller stalls were targeted.

The robbers, in both instances, had also used hammers to smash the glass display cases, Albano said in an interview.

Palace clarifies Noy visit

President Aquino, in visiting SM North EDSA within minutes after last night’s heist, “wanted to see the circumstances” and the damage caused by the robbers, presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda told reporters yesterday.

The visit by Aquino and Interior and Local Government Secretary Manuel Roxas II has been criticized on social media sites. Some netizens compared their quick reaction to the way they handled the devastation caused by Super Typhoon Yolanda.

Roxas, in a forum at the Diamond Hotel yesterday, said they will encourage shopping centers to share information and photos of those involved in robberies. He added that they will check the number of security personnel in malls and review the training of security guards.

“We would review the procedures of mall owners. There would be a sharing of best practices like how many guard should be detailed per square meter and how they train guards (in using handheld metal detectors to inspect mall-goers) and how often they rotate personnel who watch the (closed-circuit television or CCTV) monitors because looking at images can be tiring,” he said.

SM beefs up security

SM assured customers yesterday that it will continue normal operations as it beefed up security measures following the robbery.

“We have further reinforced our security on top of the already additional security measures for the holidays in our malls,” SM said in a statement.

SM said that following the incident, “the mall is back to normal operation. We will continue to look after the safety and security of our shoppers.”

Smash and grab

During the robbery at SM North EDSA, the robbers, numbering from five to seven, smashed the adjacent display cases of F&C Jewelry and The Jeweller stalls at the ground level of the mall’s department store.

Albano noted that the robbers had also smashed the display cases of bottles of perfume of Gucci, apparently to distract the attention of the mall-goers. The robbers did not take anything from the Gucci stall.

Chief Inspector Rodel Marcelo, head of the QCPD-Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit, believes the robbers had taken pieces of jewelry worth less than P1 million.

He cited an account that the among those taken by the robbers were two pieces of jewelry worth P200,000 each.

As of yesterday, there was still no official statement from the shops on the amount of valuables taken from them.

Investigators have also released the artist sketches of two of the robbers.

One of them was seen among those lurking in the area of the jeans brand Levi’s just across the jewelry stalls seemingly observing their target, said QCPD deputy director for administration Senior Superintendent Joel Pagdilao.

According to Pagdilao, the second robber, wearing a cap, was the one who had asked for the price for two rings at The Jeweller. When the sales attendant handed over the gold rings, the man grabbed the items and smashed the glass display with a hammer, Pagdilao said.

According to Albano, another robber used a crowbar to smash the display cases of F&C Jewelry.

Amid the panic and confusion created by the scene, the robbers mixed with the crowd of shoppers, Marcelo said.

Receipts

Among the pieces of evidence now held by the police is a copy of the receipt for the purchase of the hammer and the crowbar used and then left behind by the robbers, said Albano.

The police then had checked the purchases at the hardware section on the basement and found out that a hammer and a crowbar together had indeed been bought at 6:30 p.m. The robbery happened at around 7:15 p.m.

Inspector Alan dela Cruz, head of the QCPD-CIDU’s Theft and Robbery Investigation Section, said it was possible that the robber who bought the tools just passed them onto his cohorts since he did not appear to be among those who actually smashed the glass display cases.

As of yesterday morning, the broken display cases of F&C Jewelry had been replaced but those at The Jeweller remained covered with boards and its stall still closed.

Dela Cruz said some of the robbers could have been hurt with cuts from the broken glass panels as they scooped the pieces of jewelry. This was based on the traces of blood in the area.

Albano also belied earlier reports that shots were fired.

PNP meeting

The Philippine National Police yesterday called a conference including top police officials in Metro Manila following the SM North EDSA robbery.

Albano said among those invited to attend the conference were managers and security and operations officers of shopping malls in the metropolis.

During the conference in Camp Crame, Albano suggested that CCTV monitors at malls be manned at all times.

The QCPD chief also suggested that tools like hammers bought inside the mall be deposited there in cases wherein the buyer would still like to roam the mall premises to prevent the tools from being used to commit crimes in malls. – With Delon Porcalla, Evelyn Macairan, Neil Jerome Morales, Cecille Suerte Felipe