Holdup gang falls in Tondo

Seven members of a hold-up gang, including a member of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, were arrested by police yesterday for allegedly robbing a stevedore in Tondo, Manila of three "video karera" machines.

Now facing robbery charges are Police Officer 1 Vergel Roxas, 27, detailed with the CIDG’s Task Force Dragon; Wilfredo Perez, 46, of Dagat-Dagatan, Caloocan City; Jun Tan, 31, of Barangay Pasong Tamo, Tandang Sora, Quezon City; Loreto Conviene, 43, of Caloocan City.

Also arrested were Rommel Merando, 25, of Sitio Campo, Novaliches, Quezon City; John Mark Maaba, 21, of Sampaloc, Manila; Rolando Raymundo, 37, of Tandang Sora, Quezon City; and Rolando Santos, 27, of Sampaloc, Manila.

According to the Western Police District, the suspects were aboard a passenger jeepney plying the Tandang Sora-City Hall route when they were spotted by elements of a WPD patrol car at about 12:25 a.m. along N. Zamora Street in Tondo.

Police said the patrol car gave chase to the vehicle after it had countered the flow of traffic. The jeepney then increased speed, forcing elements of the prowl car to ask for back-up from the Special Reaction Unit of the Abad Santos police station and from the Tayuman police community precinct.

After a brief chase, the jeepney stopped and police conducted a routine inspection of the vehicle.

Found on the jeepney’s flooring were a large steel hammer, a crowbar, a hack saw, broken padlocks and a wooden box containing P1 coins.

When frisked, Roxas yielded a CIDG identification card and a 9 mm Beretta pistol and 41 live bullets. Seized from Perez were an ICOM handheld radio, a Rebolusyunaryong Alyansang Makabansa (RAM) identification card and several caliber .45 and caliber .38 bullets.

Tan yielded a .45 caliber Desert Eagle gun replica and a fan knife while a blank CIDG "coordination form" was taken from Santos.

Following the arrest of the suspects, Bienvenido Borja, 32, a stevedore, appeared at the WPD General Assignments Section and identified the suspects as the ones who robbed him of three video karera machines located at the corner of Lakandula and Wagas streets in Tondo at about 7 p.m. last Friday.

Investigators said the suspects allegedly introduced themselves as members of the anti-gambling task force of the Department of Interior and Local Government and carted away the video karera machines. The suspects then allegedly broke the machines to retrieve the coins and later sold the gambling machines for scrap and parts. – Mike Frialde