2 cops tagged in Caloocan highway heist, homicide

MANILA, Philippines - Two policemen were identified in a police report as allegedly being involved in the hijacking of a cargo truck carrying P600,000 worth of canned juice in Caloocan City last Tuesday and the killing of its driver and helper.

A report reaching the office of Northern Police District director Chief Superintendent Edgardo Ladao named them as Police Officers 2 Giovanni Chua and Amiel Arceo, currently assigned at the National Capital Region Police Office-Regional Personnel Holding and Accounting Unit. The two policemen and six other suspects remain at large, according to the report.

At least nine suspects were charged Thursday with highway robbery with two counts of homicide for the killing of driver Nove Canal and helper Percy Surban before the Caloocan City prosecutor’s office.

Assistant prosecutor Darwin Canete recommended no bail for the temporary liberty of Allan Alcan­tara, Pablo Angeles, Gilbert Gonio, Ricardo Chavez, Ricardo Castillo, Alfredo Balbarino, Rommel Rosete, Dionisio Rosete and Willie Castro.

 A team, led by Chief Inspector Rodrigo Soriano of the Caloocan City police investigation unit, arrested Alcantara, the slain victim’s neighbor in Tondo, and the five other suspects along C-3 Road in Dagat-Dagatan.

The suspects were in a maroon Mitsubishi Adventure (ZPA-447), the color of which was similar to a car reportedly used in at least two other hijackings in Dagat-Dagatan.

Some of the suspects escaped as the cops approached their vehicle but at least six were caught, including Angeles, who yielded a .38 caliber revolver.

During interrogation, the suspects admitted involvement in Tuesday’s predawn hijacking of a 10-wheeler cargo truck in the area and in the killing of Canal and Surban.

They led the Caloocan police to a warehouse in San Rafael, Bulacan, owned by Castro, where the hijacked truck was recovered minus its cargo.

The Bulacan police recovered Wednesday morning the bodies of Canal and Surban dumped along a highway in Baliuag, Bulacan.

The suspects told police that they sold the stolen products to Philip Corona in Caloocan City. They used another cargo truck (UGB-941) to transport the cargo.

City police chief Senior Superintendent Jude Santos said the suspects led his men to a warehouse on 11th Avenue in Caloocan, where more than 800 boxes of juice products were recovered.

Santos said the warehouse owner, Albert Chong, claimed he bought the products from Corona in good faith. Santos said they will file anti-fencing charges against Corona and Chong.