Car thieves take police vehicle

COTABATO CITY , Philippines  – A carjack gang nearly achieved what could have been the highlight of its criminal career when it stole a police patrol vehicle in Iligan City.

But the vehicle proved too hot for the gangmen, who decided to leave it in a secluded area here on their way to South Cotabato.

The brand-new white Toyota Hi-Lux police pickup policemen found abandoned in Barangay Bubong belongs to the municipal police of Madamba, Lanao del Sur.

The vehicle was last used by policemen in Iligan City, which is near Madamba, an impoverished hinterland town in the second district of Lanao del Sur.

Senior Superintendent Willie Dangane, city police director, said their vehicle was reported stolen in Iligan City four days ago.

Citing intelligence reports, Dangane said the stolen police vehicle was supposed to be brought by a group of Maranaw carjackers to either South Cotabato or General Santos City via the Secretary Narciso Ramos Highway, which links the cities of Iligan and Cotabato.

“There were some names given to us by informants, but we’re still validating if these are really the names of the people that stole the vehicle,” Dangane said.

Dangane, who is half Maranaw, said they have tapped Lanao del Sur businessmen operating here to help investigators locate the suspects.

“It’s so strange for a police vehicle, with very bold markings indicating it is owned by the Philippine National Police, to be stolen just like that. This is the first time I’ve encountered such a case,” Dangane said.

Villagers first saw the pickup, bearing license plate SJR-938, in Barangay Bubong, but simply thought policemen were carrying out a special operation in the area.

Dangane said the carjackers probably changed their plans after realizing that members of the city police were manning the city’s border with Maguindanao, which they had to pass en route to their destination.

“The carjackers were brave. They snatched a police pickup truck. Our men are smarter, however, they have been guarding the city’s surroundings efficiently,” Dangane said.

Dangane said they will turn over the recovered vehicle to the regional office of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) police.

Carjacking syndicates have been operating in Lanao del Sur for decades.

The regional chief of the ARMM’s Traffic Management Group was killed in an ambush five years ago by suspected carjackers in a secluded stretch of the Secretary Narciso Ramos Highway while on his way here from Marawi City after a two-day anti-carjacking operation there.