2 alleged con men nabbed in Quezon City

MANILA, Philippines - Two alleged members of a swindling syndicate were arrested in an entrapment operation Saturday afternoon after they reportedly attempted to defraud two firms of nearly P2 million worth of circuit breakers in Quezon City, police said yesterday.

Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit (CIDU) chief Superintendent Antonio Yarra raised the alarm to warn other establishments from being victimized and to call on the others who may have been victimized earlier by the same syndicate to come to the police to positively identify the suspects and file charges.

Yarra identified the suspects as Glenn Cunanan, 52, an FX driver; and Arnulfo Santos Jr., 46, jobless.

At 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Police Officers 3 Modestino Juanchon and Ray Anthony Baldopena together with Chief Insp. Benjamin Elenzano Jr; Senior Inspector Roderick medrano, Inspector Rogelio Diaz, all of CIDU were sent on an entrapment. 

Cunanan was collared while in the act of picking up 12 circuit breakers worth over P600,000 at the seventh floor of Cyber One building. Santos was caught in a follow-up operation after receiving the circuit breakers from Cunanan.

The suspects, claiming to be officers of Aboitiz Shipping with offices at the North Harbor Center in Manila, bought circuit breakers on several occasions, using fake purchase orders and paying the goods with spurious checks.

Arnel Navarro, sales manager of one of the victimized firms, said they later found out that Aboitiz Shipping did not exist. He said he received a memo from a sister company that said Aboitiz Shipping bought more than P600,000 worth of circuit breakers but their checks bounced.

Navarro said when he received an order for the same circuit breakers, he was surprised to learn that the faxed purchase order was similar to the one described earlier by the sister company. He then talked with his boss, who decided to stage an entrapment with the help of the CIDU.