Rob gang raising politician's campaign kitty?

MANILA, Philippines - National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) investigators are verifying reports that the purpose of robberies planned by the Ozamis gang in Metro Manila is to raise funds for the gang’s political patron in Mindanao, an official said yesterday.

“I’ve ordered intelligence units of the NCRPO to probe reports that the planned robbery operation of the Ozamis gang is related to the fund-raising of politicians in the coming May polls,” NCRPO director Chief Superintendent Leonardo Espina said in an interview.

However, he dismissed talk that the presence of 20 “hardcore” members of the gang prompted the United States embassy advisory warning Americans against loitering in the metropolis’ commercial centers, particularly in Pasay City, until Oct. 10. Three other countries also issued similar advisories.

Espina directed Superintendent Ronald Lee, chief of the Regional Police Intelligence and Operation Unit (RPIOU), and the intelligence units of the five police districts to hunt down the remaining members of the gang before they can stage more robberies.

The NCRPO chief also heightened police visibility in malls and commercial centers where banks and moneychanger shops are located. He also ordered members of the Special Weapons and Tactics units to patrol the streets.

Lee alleged that members of the Ozamis gang are behind the shooting of three Caloocan City policemen who flagged down their vehicle two weeks ago. The getaway vehicle was abandoned in Laguna.

Five other gang members were arrested in a police checkpoint in Quezon City recently. The five gang members, two of them women, said during interrogation that their hardcore counterparts are out to stage a “big job” but they do not know the target since the gang operates on a compartmentalized basis.