Six robbery gangmen fall

LA TRINIDAD, Benguet — Six robbery hold-up gangmen fell into the hands of the police on Saturday night hours after carting away some P176,000 in cash and in gold from a trader in Mankayan town.

Benguet police director Senior Supt. Conrado Milano said James Tomaging, 25; Salvador Baday, 25; John Patugan, 23; Napoleon Galap, 32; Delfin Palagpag,24; and Jason Lingligen, 23; all natives of Tadian town, in Mountain Province were collared in Barangay Acop, Tublay town.

The suspects allegedly robbed Estfana Cawa, 40, in Taneg, Mankayan and carted away 227 grams of gold with an estimated value of P83,000, more than P93,000 worth of cash and other personal belongings.

Milano said the group, suspected to be the remnant of the Tapapan Criminal Gang, barged into the house of the gold trader at around 8 p.m. on Saturday and threatened her at gunpoint to bring out all his cash and gold.

The gang tied and gagged all family members including the children in the house and after carting away all the victim’s valuables fled with their getaway vehicle a Mazda van with plate number THE 623 towards Abatan, Buguias.

Alarmed policemen from Tublay intercepted the get-away vehicle at the toll gate in Atok and arrested the suspects who were armed with one caliber .38, a caliber 9mm and a shotgun.

Also seized from the suspects were one set of gold weighing scale, 2 pieces clutch bag containining P98,345 in cash, 4 units of Nokia cellular phone, and 277 grams of gold.

The arrest came in the heels of mounting public cynicism about the police’s inability to solve the P15-million Land Bank heist in Abatan, Buguias, two months ago.

But Luga believes that the six are not the same gangmen involved in the bank heist although Supt. Milano said that one of the suspects is wanted by policemen.