Police officer linked to bus robberies
By Julie M. Aurelio
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 00:21:00 03/28/2008
MANILA, Philippines – A 45-year-old policeman assigned to Camp Crame and a civilian were arrested Wednesday for a series of late-night bus robberies along Epifanio delos Santos Avenue in Pasay City.
PO3 Walterio Laurio, a member of the Police Security and Protection Office (PSPO), and Ricardo Tayumi were arrested after a victim reported to police a bus robbery early this week.
“Tayumi allegedly passes on items he steals from passengers to Laurio. We can only guess that they sell these stolen items,” said case investigator PO2 Jonathan Morales.
The suspects and two other associates could be charged with robbery before the Pasay City prosecutors’ office. Laurio may also be charged with violation of the anti-fencing law and illegal possession of stolen property.
Police are looking for the suspects’ two alleged associates, Leonardo Cruz alias Joe Buang, and Prosperio Candaza alias Piong, who reportedly live on the same street as the suspects.
Laurio, who has been a policeman for 20 years, is member of the PSPO unit detailed at the Pakistan Embassy.
Both suspects were nabbed near their houses on Rodriguez St. in Malibay, Pasay City.
Michelle dela Cruz, a resident of Barangay Bangkal in Makati City, said that on Tuesday evening, she was a passenger on a southbound bus where Tayumi staged a holdup on Edsa near Rodriguez Street.
The victim lost a Girbaud handbag, a PDA (personal digital assistant) worth P49,000, a Samsung cellular phone worth P14,000, a Nokia unit worth P1,500, a passport, a seaman’s book and several automated teller machine cards and IDs.
Tayumi was arrested about 1 p.m. Thursday on Cabrera St. He identified Laurio as his accomplice. “I think Laurio received a tip that we were looking for him, and he returned one of the Samsung cell phones to our office Wednesday. That’s when we arrested him,” Morales said.
During interrogation, Laurio claimed the phone was given to him by a bystander and he had gone to the police station to return it. “We also noticed that although we recovered the bag, the passport was missing. We suspect that Laurio is planning to sell it since he works in an embassy,” Morales said.
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