Armed men rob NFA’s Marikina office

At least 10 heavily armed men barged into a National Food Authority (NFA) office in Marikina City, disarmed its three security guards, and herded them and several other people into a warehouse before escaping with the firm’s vault, which contained P52,000.

Eastern Police District (EPD) director Chief Superintendent Leon Nilo de la Cruz said they are coordinating with other police units in Metro Manila as the modus operandi used by the suspects were the same as the recent heists at another NFA office in Valenzuela City, a call center in Cainta, Rizal and warehouses in Parañaque City and Muntinlupa City.

“We already have a number of suspects in mind. My men are now scouring several places in Metro Manila to get them,” said De la Cruz, adding they raided a suspected safehouse two days ago but failed to make any arrests.

Superintendent Sotero Ramos Jr., Marikina City police chief said three of the suspects entered the NFA compound located along Ladislao Diwa street in Barangay Uno after a guard allowed delivery trucks to go in at about 10:27 p.m. Wednesday.

Once inside, the three suspects disarmed security guards Luis Phillip Nagato, Joel de los Santos and Genevim Espanola of their service firearms.

The robbers also grabbed the gate keys from one of the security guards and allowed a grey Toyota Corolla (SFV- 907) and a van.

The robbers then divested NFA employees of their cellular phones and wallets, and asked some of them to load the office vault into one of the vehicles.

Before leaving, the robbers herded the employees, drivers and helpers into a warehouse and locked it from the outside.

At the height of the robbery, Ramos said a police patrol team passed but a “security guard” gave the lawmen a thumbs-up sign, indicating that all is well at the compound.

Authorities later learned that one of the robbers wore the uniform of a security guard and posted himself outside the see-through main gate and acted as a “lookout.”

An inventory conducted by NFA special collection officer Jose Candedeir showed that the vault contained P52,000.

De la Cruz said to avoid being robbed again after the heist at the NFA office in Valenzuela City last month, the NFA directed its branches to deposit their collections in a bank every two hours.

The EPD director said elements of the Scene of the Crime Operatives (SOCO) arrived and lifted fingerprints and other evidence at the site for comparison with other offices robbed by the same suspects recently.

De la Cruz expressed confidence his men would collar the suspects in due time.