Suspect Jay-R Ganot, 18, resident of Dagat-Dagatan, Caloocan City, is an alleged member of the Batang Libis Gang, a group of young highway robbers operating in the Camanava (Caloocan, Malabon, Navotas, Valenzuela) area.
Chief Inspector Chris Galvez, Northern Police District Operations Division acting chief, said that his operatives, PO1 Ellen Galit and PO1 Remy Beringuel, were conducting an on the spot inspection of NPD beat patrol teams at around 1 p.m. along C-4 Road in Malabon City when holdup victim Lorilyn Bermejo sought their assistance.
Bermejo, 19, a college student, led the lady cops to the area where she was robbed by at least three armed men.
She told the police officers that she was on board a passenger jeepney going to Monumento in Caloocan when three of her fellow passengers announced a heist as they neared Letre Road.
At gunpoint, the robbers divested her and other passengers of their belongings. The suspect took from Bermejo her shoulder bag containing a mobile phone, P600 in cash, and important documents.
Upon reaching a squatters’ colony in Dagat-Dagatan, the suspects jumped off the jeepney and ran toward the area.
The policewomen, in coordination with barangay leaders and tanods, scoured the squatters’ colony for the suspects.
The hunt resulted in the arrest of Ganot and the recovery of Bermejo’s bag with her belongings still intact.
Also found from Ganot were four bullets for a caliber .38 revolver. The cops, however, failed to recover the suspect’s handgun.
Newly assigned NPD director Chief Superintendent Noe Wong commended the officers for their efficiency.
Ganot was charged with highway robbery and illegal possession of ammunitions with the Malabon City prosecutor’s office.
City fiscal Lemuel Nobleza recommended a P160,000 bail for the suspect’s temporary liberty.