P6M worth vehicles in ‘rent-pawn-redeem’ scheme surrendered to Bulacan police

CAMP GEN. ALEJO SANTOS, Bulacan — Private individuals, who unknowingly accepted rented vehicles pawned to them illegally by a syndicate, surrendered P6 million worth of sports utility vehicles (SUVs), Asian utility vehicles (AUVs), and cars on Friday, July 29, in San Ildefonso town, police said.

Police Major Mark Villar, head of Philippine National Police (PNP) Highway Patrol Group (HPG) in Bulacan, said 17 vehicles  — Toyota Vios and Mitsubishi Mirage cars, Mitsubishi Montero Sports, Toyota Hilux, Nissan Expander, Toyota Innova, Toyota Veloz, Chevrolet Trailblazer SUVs, and AUVs — were surrendered to his office by some residents of San Rafael and Baliwag towns.

They turned over the 17 vehicles pawned to them by a businesswoman-suspect and her cohorts after they learned that the vehicles were part of a P6-million worth “rent-sanla” (rent-pawn-redeem) modus.

The suspect’s name, however, is temporarily withheld pending the ongoing recovery of other vehicles involved in the modus.

Earlier that Friday, police recovered a Mitsubishi Montero Sport with plate no. NGM-8481 pawned to a friend of the suspect in Barangay Anyatam, also in San Ildefonso.

The owner of the Montero from Rizal province sought the help of the HPG in recovering their vehicle after it was not returned by the suspect who rented it from a car rental company several weeks ago. The vehicle was registered by the owner in a car rental company in Bulacan.

Most of the 17 vehicles were similarly owned by private individuals who registered their vehicles to car rental companies.

Villar said the businesswoman rented the vehicles from different rent-a-car companies in Bulacan in February and May and pawned them to various individuals with amounts ranging from P350,000 (for SUVs), P250,000 (AUVs) to P170,000 (cars/sedan).

He said the scheme is a cycle of rent-pawn-redeem and is also considered a syndicate, owing to the fact that the woman has cohorts.

“Ganun ang modus na ito, rent-sanla-tubos, ganyan ang cycle. Merong ahente at meron ding ka-partner itong businesswoman suspect,” he told Inquirer on the phone on Saturday.

(That’s how their modus is, rent-pawn-redeem cycle. There is an agent and a partner for this businesswoman suspect.)

The businesswoman, Villar said, claimed the pawning transactions have consent from the owners through an alleged special power of attorney.

The businesswoman suspect was charged with estafa.

“This has been rampant and we warn residents not to fall victim to these. Never trust people who would pawn cars which are not registered to their names,” Villar said.

Last March, 18 vehicles were recovered from five arrested suspects who used the campaign rally of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. as a modus for renting numerous SUVs and AUVs.

The modus started way back in 2016 in Region 4-A until it reached Bulacan.

The first use of the modus involved individuals who were hooked on casinos who will rent cars and pawn them to private individuals.

READ: Economic sabotage raps eyed vs rent-a-car/pawn syndicate