Police raid carjack syndicate's hideout

MANILA, Philippines - Ten members of a well-entrenched carjack syndicate, including its alleged leaders, were arrested in a police raid at the syndicate’s hideout Tuesday night in Valenzuela City.

The “Bonifacio-Salvatierra Carnap Gang” is allegedly responsible for a series of carjacking in Metro Manila and nearby provinces, according to Sta. Cruz police station chief Superintendent Nelson Yabut. “The gang is notorious for forcibly taking away sports utility vehicles at gunpoint, and would directly drive away the vehicle at their hideout where the vehicle is reassembled and sold to their contact buyers,” he said.

The raid was precipitated by the arrest of one of the gang members identified as Rolly Bartolo Tuesday afternoon in Sta. Cruz, Manila. SPO2 Eduardo Lauriada was on patrol when he was sought by a bystander who saw Bartolo and his two cohorts forcibly opening a brand new white Mitsubishi Montero (conduction sticker 7644) owned by Divino Deleos. During his arrest, Bartolo yielded a .45 caliber pistol. His two cohorts managed to escape.

Nicolas Manalili, a security guard of an insurance firm along Oroquieta street, told police that prior to the arrest of Bartolo, he and his two cohorts divested him of his service firearm at gunpoint.

Hideout in Valenzuela

During interrogation, Bartolo confessed to being a member of the carjack syndicate and led police to their hideout in La Mesa st., Ugong, Valenzuela City. The raid resulted to the arrest of nine other suspected syndicate members while reportedly caught in the act of assembling a suspected stolen vehicle. Police also recovered a gray Hyundai (ZKS-928), a gray Montero (NZI-624), a red Honda Enduro motorcycle (OJ-7851) and several “chop-chop” parts of motor vehicles.

Yabut identified the other gang members as Edmund Bonifacio, 26, also a gang leader; Nathaniel Rivera, 45; Rodel Overos, 22; Armando Vergara, 52; Christopher Ducot, 26; Jomel Salvatierra, 28, also the leader; Roel Overos, 29; Renato Nicola, 37; and Michael Daniel, 37.   

Seized from Bonifacio and Salvatierra were an unlicensed .45 caliber pistol with ammunition and a .22 caliber pistol with a loaded magazine.

Raul Borja, 32, a company driver, positively identified a disassembled white hood of a car, as part of the Toyota Hi-Lux which was forcibly taken away from him at gunpoint while he was cleaning the vehicle along P. Guevarra street in Sta. Cruz on Feb. 2.

Yabut is now coordinating with the Highway Patrol Group for profiles of the arrested suspects.   – With Perseus Echeminada