7 hijack suspects tagged in slay of driver, helper nabbed

MANILA, Philippines -  Seven of 14 suspects in the killing of a truck driver and his helper and the hijacking of their cargo of canned juice worth over P600,000 have been arrested, police said yesterday.

City police chief Senior Superintendent Jude Santos identified the arrested suspects as Allan Alcantara, 42, driver; Gilbert Gonio, 32, truck helper; Ricardo Chavez, 50, driver; Ricardo Castillo, 50, truck helper; and Philip Corona, alleged fence.

Santos said the suspects arrested earlier were Alfredo Balbarino, 25, vendor; and Pablo Angeles, 24. Still at large are Rommel Rosete; Dionisio Rosete; Willie Castro; and those identified only as Jonjon, Weng, Anot Arceo and Putol.

Maxison Freight Services, represented by Nestor Sison, filed charges of highway robbery with multiple homicide before the city prosecutor’s office in connection with the killing of Maxison truck driver Nove Canal, 27; and truck helper Percy Surban, 31.

The truck carrying the canned juices was recovered in Bulacan but the goods remain missing.

Cops hunt down other suspects

Manila policemen launched a manhunt yesterday for members of a hijack syndicate who abandoned a truck with P1.4 million worth of animal feed along C-3 Road in Caloocan City early morning Thursday.

The container was reportedly abandoned after its truck malfunctioned, according to Chief Inspector Randy Maluyo, chief of the anti-hijacking unit of the Manila Police District.

Maluyo said the hijackers are linked to four men recently arrested by the Caloocan police for the hijacking of a 10-wheeler truck with P1-million worth of canned juices. The truck driver and his helper were reportedly killed by the suspects and their bodies dumped along a highway in Baliuag, Bulacan.

“The syndicate members, led by a policeman, operate in clusters of four persons and responsible for a series of hijacking operations in the northern part of Metro Manila,” said Maluyo, who temporarily withheld the identity of the alleged mastermind.            

Maluyo received a call from an informant that armed men intercepted a truck (PMH-736) carrying a 40-foot shipping container after it left North Harbor for delivery to its consignee in Valenzuela City.

Driver Alberto Yu, 51, and helper Rodelito Gaspar, 29, were hogtied by the suspects and dropped along Bonifacio Road.

Acting on the tip, Maluyo and his men rushed to the area and found the abandoned container van and the two men.

“The truck developed engine trouble and temporarily left by the (hijackers), possibly to look for a mechanic,” Maluyo told The STAR.

The driver and helper identified the hijackers through a police gallery.