Burglars dig tunnel, forced to break in after missing target

For two weeks, they dug underground from their place towards a nearby pawnshop and almost nobody noticed, not even their landlord.

Yet a so-called “acetylene cutter” gang still fell short of their goal to rob a pawnshop in barangay Lahug, Cebu City, yesterday.

Cebu City police found a three-foot- wide hole in the wall of the Gemmary Pawnshop right at the corner where the cashier’s counter stood with the aid of employees.

The pawnshop’s double vault where the cash and jewelry were stored were intact.

The police received a fire alarm that came from the Gemmary Pawnshop at 10 a.m. yesterday.

At first glance, they found nothing suspicious as the pawnshop’s roll-up door was locked.

But after seeing the hole, police retraced it all the way to a two-floor house owned by Aurora Gotengco, who lived 15 meters near the pawnshop.

Advance payment

Gotengco’s daughter Karel told local media that a certain Johnny Lo came to them and asked if he can rent part of the first and second floor of the family’s home. The family has been renting space for several years now.

Karel said Lo told them that he wanted to set up a massage parlor in the place.

Lo presented some identification cards and a community tax certificate, stating that he was from Toledo City.

Lo then signed a one-year contract to rent the two-floor space and paid Gotengco P30,000 for one month advance and two months deposit starting last Jan. 6.

Karel said Lo started covering his room’s glass walls with dark colored, thick curtains.

She said Lo told them that they were having renovations for the massage parlor.

Karel said they were shocked when they saw the three-foot-wide hole in their floor yesterday.

Nothing unusual

SPO3 Rey Culoscus of the Cebu City police said the robbers appeared to have dug a tunnel leading to the pawnshop for two weeks.

The tunnel was estimated to be 10 to 15 meters long and five feet deep.

But Culoscos said the robbers appeared to have miscalculated because the hole ended up underneath the Angel’s Sportswear tailor shop.

The tailor shop, which is closed on Sundays, is separated by a wall from the pawnshop.

Culoscos said the robbers dug a hole through the wall near the cashier’s counter to enter the pawnshop. Gemmary Pawnshop is also closed on Sundays.

Despite their digging, most of Gotengco’s neighbors didn’t notice anything unusual.

A resident named Bing Palomar said she saw Lo standing outside their rented space from 12 midnight to 5 a.m. yesterday.

Up all night

She described Lo as a big man with a dark complexion.

Palomar said Lo would walk to and fro and appeared to be watching out for something while texting on his cell phone.

“I was up all night until morning because I was waiting for my husband to arrive from work. I was curious because it was the first time that I saw the guy and he was acting suspicious. I know he was new there,” Palomar said.

She said a vehicle arrived at 7 a.m. and Lo went inside it together with two other men whom she didn’t know.

“Wa mi kadungog nga naay namukpok (We didn’t hear any pounding sound downstairs),” said Rachel Paner, one of the owners of Angel’s Sportswear.

Paner, who lives in the second floor for 15 years, said she was nervous after seeing the hole.

In their rented room, the robbers left sacks of soil piled up in the stairs heading to the second floor.  Police also saw a lot of bottled water.

The pawnshop owner who declined to be named voiced relief that the double vault containing the cash and jewelry remained intact.

He said the acetylene cutter the robbers used couldn’t penetrate a double vault.

Inventory

Still, he called on the police to arrest the robbers and promised a reward to whoever can give information on their whereabouts.

Police are still confirming if “Johnny Lo” was a real name.

Edward Bauzon, the pawnshop’s lawyer, said the robbery attempt was discovered by branch manager Love Balansag.

“We will conduct an inventory. The alarm system was very effective because it prevented the burglary,” Bauzon said.

In a separate interview, fingerprint examiner Elena Almario of the Crime Scene Investigation of the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) said the robbery is likely perpetrated by five or more persons.

Recovered from the pawnshop were one drill, two screwdrivers, one pair of pliers, one miner’s flashlight, one wrench, one stove (Super Kalan), one set of acetylene and one 28-inch-long iron bar.

Police found at Angel’s Sportswear shop one iron bar, two hydraulic jack, one miner’s flashlight, one pair of pliers, one drill, one screw driver, one iron bar, one bottled water and two blades.

Recovered by police from Lo’s rented room were one oxygen opener, two rolls of masking tape, one screwdriver, one pair of gloves, two sets of sofa bed, a pair of keys, clothes and a curtain.  /Carine M. Asutilla and Rhea Ruth V. Rosell, Correspondents