Robbery gang leader nabbed in Gen. Santos

KORONADAL CITY — Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) men and police intelligence agents arrested in nearby General Santos City the suspected leader of the notorious Bansalao gang, which preys on passenger buses and bank collectors in the South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani and General Santos City (Socksargen) area.

Senior Superintendent Alfredo Toroctocon, General Santos City police chief, said Ariel Bansalao, alias Haron Abubakar, was arrested on a tip given by a concerned citizen.

Bansalao was collared by the combined SWAT-police intelligence team led by Chief Inspector Jose Necitas Cardos in Barangay Bawing in General Santos City last Thursday night.

Toroctocon said Bansalao tried to resist arrest by drawing his caliber .45 pistol but the lawmen immediately disarmed him.

He said Bansalao had been wanted for several years for robbery and homicide cases in various courts in General Santos City and Sarangani.

Bansalao was tagged as the one of four armed men behind a bus holdup in Barangay Tinagacan in General Santos City last April 11, where a passenger was killed and several others were wounded.

Bansalao was also tagged in the holdup-killing of a bank collector in Sarangani last month. — Ramil Bajo