MANILA, Philippines -- The Quezon City Police District (QCPD) arrested the most wanted person on its list more than three months after he escaped from his escorts during a court hearing, , National Capital Region Police Office Chief Geary Barias said Thursday.

Senior Police Officer 3 Allan dela Cruz, head of the team that hunted down Pedro Rodica, 32, said they caught the fugitive in his home province, Mindoro, after an operation that took police to Laguna, Cavite and Batangas.

Rodica, who escaped from his Manila City Jail escort during a hearing of a case against him in Makati City last December, used the aliases Pidi Ricardo Montero and Bradd Galea.

Dela Cruz described Rodica as the alleged leader of a robbery gang that victimized money-changing shops in the cities of Manila, Mandaluyong and Makati. The gang was also allegedly responsible for a number of homicides in the course of the robberies.

Rodica, who escaped with the help of his gang-mates, is also the subject of a warrant of arrest issued by the Quezon City regional trial court for a case of robbery with homicide.