4 men nabbed for drugs linked to thefts

Four alleged members of a gang that breaks into parked vehicles and takes the valuables of their owners were arrested in Quezon City last week, according to a police official.

Senior Superintendent Lino Banaag, Quezon City Police District Station 1 chief, identified those arrested as Ramoncito Tanay, 18; Harian Requilman, 27; Edwin Duanan, 27; and Julius Batac, 18; all residents of Tondo, Manila.

However, their alleged leader, Angelo Matalang, also known as Tarzan, was able to escape.

Banaag said the group usually operates in Manila and Quezon City and is also involved in selling drugs.

“They choose parked cars with valuables inside and smash the windows to gain access,” he added.

According to Banaag, the four were initially arrested for selling illegal drugs.

“But our investigation showed that the group is also responsible for numerous car-related thefts in Quezon City and nearby areas,” he added.

Banaag also said that the four had been positively identified by witnesses and some of their victims.

Police records showed that the members of the group were arrested during a drug bust operation in Barangay Paang Bundok, Quezon City, at around 5 p.m. on Wednesday.

The police official, however, did not explain why the operation was announced only on Sunday.

Banaag said the four men yielded six plastic sachets suspected to contain shabu (methamphetamine hydrochloride).

Also seized from them were four motorcycles reported to have been stolen by the group.

Three of the vehicles had license plates while the fourth had a sign which read “for registration.”

“The motorcycle without the plate number serves as the group’s getaway vehicle,” Banaag said.

Based on the statement given by a building security officer in Banawe, Quezon City, the group had victimized several of the building’s occupants.

He also identified two of the four motorcycles seized from the group as the getaway vehicles used by the car thieves.