Robbery gang leader slain in Ecija shootout

CABANATUAN CITY — The suspected leader of a notorious robbery-holdup gang tagged in the 2003 gunslaying of a policeman was killed and one of his henchmen was wounded in a shootout with operatives of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) in Talavera, Nueva Ecija last Friday, police said.

Superintendent Ferdinand Vero, CIDG-Nueva Ecija chief, identified the slain gang leader as Edwin Labrador of the so-called "Dangal Gang," and his wounded cohort as Fer Mallari.

Vero said the shootout broke out at about 3:45 a.m. Friday when joint operatives of the CIDG and the provincial police, acting on a tip from civilian informants, encountered Labrador’s group, who was aboard a Besta van, in Barangay Ibabao-bana, Talavera town.

Labrador and Mallari were hit in the initial burst of gunfire. Their two companions were able to escape.

Vero said the "Dangal Gang" was behind the killings of PO3 Renato Ablog in May 2003 and one Wesley Custodio last January.

Police also tagged the group in the recent hijacking of a van loaded with P100,000 worth of items, and the carjacking of a Toyota Vios.

Police seized from Labrador’s vehicle three high-powered firearms, two grenades, magazines and ammunition, four ski masks, a cap, a bolo, a map and signboards of various transport firms in Luzon.