Armored van guard runs off with P13-M

DAVAO CITY — Police are hunting down a security guard who held up an Allied Bank armored van he was escorting in Tagum City, Davao del Norte last Tuesday afternoon, and carted away more than P13 million.

The suspect, Mario Soriano, 41, who worked for the Manila-based Big Brother Security Agency, announced the heist while the armored van was returning to the bank’s Tagum City branch from a shopping mall.

Soriano proceeded to handcuff his two fellow guards and the bank manager. He then commandeered the armored van to the boundary of Tagum and Carmen town, and there transferred to a waiting Kia Avella, carrying the money.

Reports said three men, including the driver, had waited for Soriano. Police later found the Kia Avella, which was merely rented, in Carmen town.