Man tagged in Sta. Ana holdups falls

MANILA, Philippines—An leader of a robbery gang believed to be behind a spate of holdup incidents in Sta. Ana, Manila, was arrested on Thursday.

Hero Macalanda, 24, was on a black motorbike passing through Barangay Sta. Maria when a concerned citizen who recognized him from an earlier heist and aware of the police manhunt alerted the Manila Police District. An arrest team later caught up with him in the same village.

MPD Sta. Ana station commander Supt. Robert Domingo said Macalanda was the most wanted person in his area and has been the target of a task force specially created two months ago to track him down.

The suspect was carrying a loaded .38-caliber revolver when arrested and failed to produce papers for the motorbike he was using, Domingo said.