3 rob gang members slain in NE

CABANATUAN CITY — Three suspected members of a big-time robbery-holdup gang operating in Central Luzon and Southern Tagalog were killed in a shootout with operatives of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) in Sta. Rosa, Nueva Ecija yesterday morning.

Superintendent Ferdinand Vero, chief of the Nueva Ecija CIDG’s 3rd Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit, identified two of those slain as Antonio Henobes, 29, and Georgie Ardales.

Vero said three of their cohorts were able to escape and are now being hunted.

"By far, this is our biggest accomplishment for 2006 in our campaign against hijacking and robbery-holdup gangs in Nueva Ecija," Vero said.

He said Director Jesus Versoza, CIDG chief, and Senior Superintendent Zoilo Lachica, CIDG-Region 3 head, ordered the crackdown on crime gangs preying on cargo trucks. — With Ric Sapnu, Cecille Suerte Felipe