Driver identifies 3 of 7 hijack suspects

Three of the seven men who were arrested in connection with the hijacking of a cargo truck carrying P2 million worth of galvanized iron sheets last Thursday were identified by the truck driver and his three helpers at the Northern Police District (NPD) jail yesterday.

Joenel Canares, 32, driver of Yokohama International cargo truck (PUF-289) identified the three suspects as Banjamin Serrano, 33; Benafred Mamalias, 21; and Ferdinand Decierdo, 24, all residents of Trece Martires, Cavite.

Canares’ helpers – Christopher Valinton, 24; Jolito Genon, 28; and Jun Ray Pacete, 28 – also pointed to Serrano and Mamalias as two of the gun-toting suspects while Decierdo served as their tipster.

“Decierdo was one of my four helpers. He was busy texting while we were traveling. Later he asked me to stop to answer the call of nature,” Canares said.

“The area where he asked me to stop was isolated so I just continued driving, but I noticed that one of my tires was flat so I was forced to stop,” he added.

A passenger jeepney suddenly appeared from the rear of the truck and stopped, At this point, Serrano and Mamalias alighted from the jeepney.

The suspects, armed with handguns, ordered Canares and his four helpers to step down from the truck as more men appeared. The driver and the helpers – except Decierdo – were bound, blindfolded and gagged, police said.

The victims were told to return to the truck as one of the hijackers took the wheel. After an hour of traveling, the hijackers dumped the driver and his helpers, minus Decierdo, on a highway in Carmona, Cavite. The victims immediately sought help from the police.

“They told us not to report to the police or they will kill all of us, including our families,” Canares said.

The NPD learned of the hijacking in Cavite at around 9 a.m. Thursday. The hijacked truck was to deliver the cargo that night somewhere in the Caloocan, Malabon, Navotas, and Valenzuela (Camanava) area.

NPD director Chief Superintendent Pedro Tango directed his intelligence chief Senior Superintendent Rafael Santiago Jr., to intercept the cargo truck and arrest all its occupants.

At around midnight, NPD operatives arrested the three suspects and their cohorts, Tony Sayson, 33; Rodel Millete, 43; Emilio Mascardo, 40; and Tomas Reyes Jr., 44, while unloading the stolen truck’s cargo into a jeepney (DTX 401) on Dagat-Dagatan Avenue in Barangay 8, Caloocan City.

Sonic Steel Industries Inc., based in Trece Martires, owns the galvanized iron sheets. It was about to deliver the cargo to Lucena City when the truck was hijacked. Some of the sheets were already missing when the police collared the suspects, who carried a .45 caliber pistol, a .44 caliber Magnum and .38 caliber revolvers.