Police urged to tighten security, arrest robbers

Instead of announcing the arrival of Ozamiz City-based robbers in Cebu to media, police should just focus on finding them and making arrests.

This was the advice of Senior Supt. Louie Oppus, deputy regional director of the Police Regional Office in Central Visayas (PRO-7), after  some Cebu City police officials announced that robbers from Ozamiz City are in Cebu to stage robberies or avenge the deaths of their members.

Oppus said  police directors were instructed to tighten security measures in commercial establishments and arrest suspected robbers once spotted.

Earlier,  Senior Supt. Melvin Ramon Buenafe, director of the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO), said the police monitored the presence of suspected Ozamiz robbery gang members but could not arrest them without basis of actual illegal activity  and that police could only work to  prevent their crime plans. Measures are in place to foil any robbery, he said.

Buenafe said banks, money changers, pawnshops and other monetary institutions are given security briefings and reminders to reinforce their  arrangements.

Police said the suspected robbers are a sub-group of the Junjun Cabando-led robbery group.

Cabando’s group was involved in the Sept. 6 foiled robbery of an armored van outside Robinsons mall in Fuente Osmeña.  They held up a bank teller who was delivering P1.2-million cash to a money changer outlet.

Two robbers, Mario Dapitan and Antonio Adelan and Nelson Magsanay, were killed in a shoot-out with police.

Cabando was wounded but was able to flee.

Two security guards were killed, while two policeman and a bank teller were injured./CORRESPONDENT CHITO O. ARAGON