A man who lost his cell phone to bus robbers in Quezon City got it back after the police arrested 10 sidewalk vendors on Commonwealth Avenue and seized 103 phones believed to be stolen as well.
A Quezon City Police District (QCPD) report said the operation was based on the complaint of Manolo Panes who told the police that he lost his Samsung Galaxy J1 phone to three suspects who sat beside him on a bus traveling on Commonwealth Avenue and got off near Commonwealth Market.
Members of the District Special Operations Unit (DSOU) scoured the side streets of Commonwealth Avenue in Barangay Batasan Hills where 10 men were selling cell phones on the sidewalk.
When the vendors failed to present receipts for the phones, the police placed them under arrest.
They were identified as Issachar Quares, Ernesto Oro, Leonardo M. Pabilona, Joselito V. Menchin, Robert John E. Rosario, Rocky M. Limen, Apolinar P. Malicdem, Marlon Ryan Reyes, Sabur K. Sariul and a minor.
They face charges for violating the anti-fencing law and failure to issue receipts or sales invoices
One of the phones recovered from the suspects turned out to be belonging to Panes as it matched the IMEI (international mobile equipment identity) and serial number on the receipt he presented to the police.
The QCPD director, Senior Supt. Guillermo Lorenzo Eleazar, called on other phone robbery victims in the Batasan area to go to the DSOU office in Camp Karingal and bring proof of ownership.