8 drug store robbers fall in Pasig City

Eight men believed to be behind several robberies targeting drug stores in Pasig City have been arrested.

Senior Supt. Jesse Cardona, Pasig police chief, told the Inquirer that the members of the notorious Jeffrey Payo Group were picked up separately in follow-up operations conducted in Barangays Kalawaan and Maybunga on Tuesday.

Chief Insp. Glenn Magsino, head of the police investigation unit, said that the gang had been linked to a series of heists involving generic drug stores and other establishments in Pasig City.

They were identified by witnesses and with the help of footage taken by closed circuit television cameras in some of the stores they robbed, Cardona said.

The eight were identified as Michael Dadayan, 32; Jimmy Cayetano, 41; Rainer Daracan, 37; Joel Villalon, 28; Wilson Mateo, 27; Jun Salidaga, 34; Mario Quinto, 48; and Mark Pascual, 21.

During their arrest, the eight yielded three handguns and plastic sachets containing what police believed to be methamphetamine hydrochloride or “shabu.”

Cardona said charges for illegal possession of firearms and violation of the Dangerous Drugs Act had been filed against the eight who remain detained at the Pasig City Police Station.