Resto Gang strikes in Libis

They came without warning like uninvited dinner guests. And it was all too easy for the heavily armed intruders as they took cell phones and wallets from shocked customers, who moments ago were enjoying their dinner at a popular steakhouse in Quezon City .

Police are now hunting at least 10 men, believed to be members of the Resto Gang, after they robbed diners of the Outback Restaurant in Libis, Quezon City the other night.

Investigators said the suspects divested some P500,000 in cash, jewelry, cell phones, credit cards and other valuables from the customers. The robbers were armed with M-16 rifles and other high-powered firearms. No injuries were reported in the incident which took place at about 8:45 p.m.

The armed men fled on board a Mercedes Benz van, which was escorted by three other vehicles, police said. They said it was possible more suspects were involved, probably acting as backup.

Police sources said the robbery only took about 15 minutes. Some officers were puzzled, however, because the gunmen did not bother to rob the restaurant’s cash registers.

The suspects may have been targeting a particular customer. One source said, they may have tailed an individual who had just withdrawn a considerable amount earlier in the day.

According to Central Police District director Chief Superintendent Napoleon Castro, the gunmen did not use masks.

He urged the victims to visit his office to try and identify the suspects from the photo gallery of suspected criminals.

CPD operatives are now conducting follow-up operations on the case.

Meanwhile, Metro police chief Deputy Director General Reynaldo Velasco ordered police investigators yesterday to determine whether the robbery in Libis was pulled off by the same group behind the heist at two bank branches in Parañaque City early this year.

Velasco issued his directive amid reports that one of the robbers was a woman, whose description fit that of the lone female suspect in the Prudential and Equitable-PCIBank branches in Parañaque City last March.

Velasco directed Superintendent Miguel Laurel, officer-in-charge of the intelligence division of the National Capital Region Police Office to coordinate with the Quezon City and Parañaque City police

Laurel said they are now tracking down the maroon Mercedes Benz van (MKA-365) which the robbers used in the Outback robbery.

"We have no idea at the moment where they escaped. My men are still digging up clues," he said.

Rolando Sacramento, director of the Eastern Police District (EPD), said he dispatched mobile teams and elements of the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) at the corner of C-5 Road and Ortigas Extension to conduct blocking operations following the robbery.

"After we were informed of the robbery, my mobile and SWAT units rushed to block all possible exit points, but we failed to spot the van," Sacramento said in an interview. – With Non Alquitran