4 pickpockets collared by police on crowded bus in QC

MANILA, Philippines – A commotion on a crowded bus in Quezon City during the early morning rush caught the attention of patrolling policemen and led quickly to the arrest of four pickpockets, then already exposed and trapped inside, police said.

The pickpockets, identified by the police as John Rich Sarmiento, 20, Jeffrey Borbon, 25, Arsenio Dapit, 34, and Joseph Matira, 41, all residents of Barangay Batasan Hills,  were charged with theft at the Quezon City prosecutors office following their arrest on Thursday morning on an intersection in Cubao.

The four were identified by the victims and other bus passengers.

“This only goes to show that the additional deployment for police presence in the Cubao area has positive results in our anti-criminality campaign,” said Chief Superintendent Richard Albano, Quezon City Police director.

The incident happened around 6:45 a.m. Thursday aboard a Jayross bus, which stopped at a traffic light at the corner of EDSA and P. Tuazon Boulevard.

Cubao police station commander Supt. Ramon Pranada said some bus passengers saw the four men picking the bags or pockets of other passengers and alerted the victims. A commotion then broke loose on the bus, catching the attention of patrolling policemen led by Senior Police Officer 3 Arsenio Caraveo, who boarded the vehicle and arrested the pickpockets, Pranada said.

Police recovered one cellphone worth P1,000, another cellphone costing P10,000 and a wallet containing P190 and returned them to their owners, Pranada said.