Suspects in bank heist identified: police

POLICE operatives said the suspects who robbed Banco de Oro on Thursday are members of an organized crime group operating in the Visayas, Manila and Mindanao.

Cagayan de Oro City police director Gerardo Rosales said they already identified the suspects based on the cartographic sketches they made as described by a bank teller.

However, Rosales declined to give further information as to the name of the organized crime group pending further investigation.

"We're handicapped up to now because we can't get a copy of the CCTV (closed-circuit television footages) from the bank to compare with the cartographic that we get," Rosales told Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro.

Although there were only three robbers who entered the bank, Rosales said there were seven more or less companions who were posted outside Banco de Oro Osmeña branch.

The robbery, Rosales added, is well-planned, as it took only about two to three minutes. So, when police arrived at the crime scene, the suspects already escaped with the still undetermined amount of cash from the bank and P100,000 from a depositor.

Rosales, however, said he is optimistic that in the next few days, the case will be solved as soon as they get a copy of the CCTV from the bank. (ALR)