3 nabbed for P6-M Tarlac pawnshop heist

CAMP MAKABULOS, Tarlac — Three suspected members of a criminal gang in Baguio City were arrested while they were in the act of carting away P6 million in cash and jewelry from a pawnshop in Bamban town.

Provincial police chief, Senior Superintendent Angelo Sunglao identified the men as Julius Alcedo, who is said to be also using the fictitious name Carlo Balagui, 25; Ben Balaguiwed, also known as Ben Patani, 26; and, Robert Paasa, 28, all residents of a squatter community in Trancoville in Baguio City.

Presented to the media here yesterday, the suspects were also tagged by police as those responsible for the string of robberies that hit pawnshops and jewelry shops in Bamban’s neighboring town of Mabalacat, Pampanga.

Alcoriza said investigators have assumed that the suspects’ group is an "organized criminal gang," as he noted that, shortly after their arrest, "someone had already provided them a battery of lawyers." — Benjie Villa