Chief Superintendent Ismael Rafanan, Central Luzon police director, identified the five as Shi Jinding, 45, alleged owner of the warehouse; Anthony Chen, 26; Jacky Tan, 38; Joseph Lu, 26; and a certain Wo Pu.
Rafanan said the raid, led by Superintendents James Cristobal of the PNP Hijacking Coordinating Council, and Fernando Maminta, head of the Angeles City Police Station 2, confiscated a 20-foot container van containing 1,040 cases of Family canned sardines worth about P900,000.
In a report, Maminta said the PNP Hijacking Coordinating Council had received information that the suspects had contacted a certain Eric Cabanlit to deliver the container van from Manila to Angeles City.
The police team tailed Cabanlit’s Isuzu tractor and then swooped down on the warehouse where the five Chinese nationals were arrested, together with Cabanlit and his helper, Edwin Mercado.