A GETAWAY car thought to have been used by the bandits who robbed a jewelry store in downtown Cebu City was intercepted in a police checkpoint in Barangay Lamacan, Sibonga town around 4 a.m. on Monday, November 27, 2023.
The two persons on board the red Honda Civic car were also arrested.
However, Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) Chief Police Colonel Ireneo Dalogdog refused to reveal their names due to an ongoing investigation.
The police also recovered KG9 with six live rounds, .45 pistol, a hand grenade, a grenade rifle, t-shirts, baseball caps and a sling bag.
The items are now in the custody of the CCPO.
According to Dalogdog, the accused can be considered persons of interest.
"Ma consider gyud nato sila nga mga persons of interest (POIs) kay nganong sila man ang nag gamit sa maong sakyanan nga diin kini nga sakyanan mao ni siya ang gigamit sa mismong aktong nga pagpang hold-up," Dalogdog said.
(They can be considered persons of interest because they were using the car used in the holdup).
The POIs are being investigated to find out their accomplices in the pawnshop heist.
According to the CCTV evidence, the red Honda Civic getaway car—which had its license plate on—was following the two motorcycles that the four armed men were riding after they carried out the robbery last Saturday, November 25.
However, when the police found it, its car plate was replaced with a carton bearing the words "Temp. plate for registration.”
The CCPO admitted receiving information last week about the sighting of criminals from other places in Cebu, prompting Dalogdog to alert his men.
However, the criminals pulled off a heist without being detected by the authorities.
The CCPO said it will expand its probe to see whether the group that staged a robbery in Cagayan de Oro City is the same group that robbed the pawnshop in downtown Cebu City because the two groups used similar robbery techniques.
Dalogdog did not rule out the idea that the POIs apprehended in Mandaue City for the pawnshop robbery event were the accomplices of those detained in Sibonga town.
Meanwhile, Dalogdog said that they will check the security personnel in downtown establishments after learning that they they ran inside inside and hid because they do not have service firearms, upon witnessing the robbery incident.
According to Dalogdog, they will coordinate with the Firearms and Explosives Office to discuss potential penalties that the security agency would incur for not providing weapons to its employees.
Oro Sugbu Pawnshop guard Eliseo Japitan stated in a radio interview that he had been a guard for 20 years, but he was unarmed at the time of the event.
He said that the agency provided him a paltik .38 revolver, but it was defective.
"Pagsugod palang nako diri defective na daan ang armas wala pa gyuy bala," Japitan stated.
(Since I arrived here, my gun has been defective and empty of ammunition).
Dalogdog emphasized the need of having an alarm system installed in a place like a pawnshop or any financing institution so that in the event of an emergency, the closest police station will be notified right away.
"Naa may mga pawnshop nga naa nay direct contact ba naa silay alarm nga gi install sa ilang pawnhsop para anytime nga naay mga insidente nga susama niadto maka connect sila sa police station," Dalogdog said.
(Some pawnshops have alarms installed so they can communicate with the police station in cases like these).
The CCPO increased its police presence on the streets after the downtown robbery. (With TPT)