MANILA, Philippines – A tanker truck with almost P1 million worth of bunker fuel was found abandoned in Pampanga after being hijacked on Saturday night in Quezon City.
The Mexico municipal police station found the Prometheum trucking service’s vehicle, with plate number UUC-592, after it was abandoned along a provincial road of Sta. Maria, Mexico.
SPO4 Alan dela Cruz, chief of the Quezon City Police District’s theft and robbery section, said the vehicle was recovered at around 9 a.m. Sunday with the 20,000 liters of fuel worth P800,000 in it.
The police official surmised that the thieves might have left the truck behind after learning that it contained bunker fuel, used in factories, plants and ships, instead of petroleum or diesel fuel.
Bunker fuel, Dela Cruz said, would be much harder to sell than gasoline or diesel fuels.
The Mexico town police received a report from a resident about the abandoned truck and decided to deploy a patrol unit to verify the information.
The policemen later learned from the company that the vehicle was hijacked by eight men on Saturday evening in Quezon City.
The incident happened at around 10:30 p.m. at the corner of D. Tuazon and Roxas Streets in La Loma. Driving the truck was Edwin Mandawe, 38, accompanied by helper Willy Mesina, 36.
The two workers told police that they got the fuel from the Petron Pandacan depot in Manila and that they were bound for Ugong, Valenzuela City.
One of the eight men had a long firearm while the rest had hand guns.
Dela Cruz said the robbers introduced themselves as members of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group and even wore police shirts and black police jackets.
The robbers overtook the truck using a white Revo, after which the workers were handcuffed, blindfolded and made to board the Revo.
The workers were then dropped off in Vitas, Tondo in Manila.