Investigators said at least seven suspects are behind the well-executed heist of the Ablaza Pawnshop and a dental clinic, both located at the ground floor of the Estrada and Sons Building at 2009 Leveriza street, San Andres, Manila.
Investigator SPO1 Celso Tan said the suspects used an acetylene torch to break open the pawnshop’s steel vault containing precious gems and jewelry.
Tan said the suspects, whom the police now dubbed as the "Acetylene Gang," rented a room at the second floor of the building two months ago introducing themselves as seamen applying for jobs abroad.
Tan said he believes the suspects did this to study the targeted pawnshop located at the ground floor of the building.
Investigation showed the suspects initially tried to bore a hole through the flooring of their second-floor room above the dental clinic to gain entrance into the adjacent pawnshop but failed due to the thick cement floor.
The suspects then passed through the aircon duct which leads to the exit door at the back portion of the pawnshop. They broke the thin cement wall at the back to gain entry into the pawnshop. The suspects then used an acetylene torch to open the steel vault and scooped away its contents.
Tan said the heist occurred between 7:30 p.m. Friday and 7:35 a.m. yesterday when the break-in was discovered by the pawnshop employees.
He said that while the suspects were working on the pawnshop’s steel vault, their companions could have gained entry into the adjacent dental clinic owned by a certain Helen Ilagan.
Ilagan said the room was in disarray when she opened the clinic yesterday. She said more than P150,000 in cash, jewelry and dental equipment were taken from her clinic.
Tan recovered inside the pawnshop an acetylene tank and tarpaulin sheets which were used by the suspects to hide the smoke and odor coming from the acetylene torch.
A lone security guard watches the pawnshop only during daytime, Tan said.
"These men are professionals," he said of the suspects, believed led by a certain "Edwin," who facilitated the lodging on the second floor.
Beth Brito, the pawnshop’s appraiser, told police the amount of jewelry inside the vault could reach millions of pesos pending final inventory of contents.