QCPD: 3 carjack gangs have merged

MANILA, Philippines -  Members of three gangs allegedly banded together and staged the recent carjackings in Metro Manila, according to Quezon City Police District (QCPD) director Chief Superintendent Mario dela Vega.

In a recent interview, Dela Vega told The STAR they are hot on the trail of around seven gang members.

Superintendent Ferdinand Villanueva, head of the QCPD’s Anti-Carnapping Unit, said three of the carjackers have been identified.

“We have the names and the photos of these suspects,” Villanueva said, noting that they were not releasing the images and the names yet so as not to alert these men.

“We are currently hunting them down,” the police official said.

According to Villanueva, they were able to come up with the figure based on footage taken by closed-circuit television cameras in some of the incidents.

“These men are members of different groups, who have come together,” Dela Vega said.

Four similar incidents were reported in Quezon City, with the carjackers taking away a Mitsubishi Montero Sport, a Nissan X-Trail, a Toyota Revo and a Toyota Fortuner.

In all four incidents, the complainants were dropped off elsewhere after having been taken by the carjackers.

Based on reports filed by the vehicle owners, all the incidents involved three armed men. A similar incident happened in the Camanava area recently.