4 held for fuel theft in Laguna
LUCENA CITY, Quezon – Police arrested four men allegedly involved in fuel pilfering, locally known as “paihi,” during a late-night operation on Wednesday in Alaminos, Laguna.
The Police Regional Office 4A said local police, assisted by barangay tanods (village watchmen), were conducting a routine patrol when they caught the suspects in the act of siphoning fuel from two tanker trucks along the Alaminos–Lipa City bypass road in Barangay San Miguel at around 11 p.m.
The suspects were identified by their aliases as “Roberto,” 34; “Fernan,” 33; and “Mark Paolo,” 28 — all drivers — and a helper, “Jericho.”
READ: PNP probes into illegal fuel operations in Laguna, Navotas
Authorities said about 400 liters of petroleum products, valued at P40,000, had already been siphoned and transferred into a drum inside a Mitsubishi L300 van driven by Mark Paolo.
The theft is called “paihi,” a Filipino term that refers to the act of urinating and now means siphoning fuel from a tank or depot.
The suspects were taken into custody and are set to face criminal charges.
The two tanker trucks and the van used in the operation were impounded./coa
