License plates stolen from LTO’s Makati office

Police authorities said thieves stole close to 40 license plates from the stockroom of the Land Transportation Office (LTO) in Makati City recently.

Makati City Police chief Superintendent Gilbert Cruz said they learned of the heist after they received a call from LTO-Makati Office chief Luciano Caparas, who reported that more than 37 pairs of unissued plates were taken by the thieves from the stockroom of the LTO office in BUTEL building on Pililia street.

Investigators, led by Inspector Thomas Chu, said the theft could have transpired between Dec. 21, 2007 to midnight of Dec. 27.

Chu said LTO employees Leonardo San Diego and Rufina Labastina were the ones who discovered that the plates, which were just on top of a table in the stockroom, were missing.

Based on their initial investigation, Chu said around three to five men conducted the heist.

The police said they found the back of the storage room open and it was possible that the suspects climbed a wall behind the LTO office and passed through an opening into the storage room.

Cruz said the lack of security personnel led to the easy entry of the suspects inside the office. He found out that there is only one security guard assigned at the LTO office.

He added that they still have to conduct a further investigation of the incident.