P2.8M casino heist

Money bills of P500 and P1,000 were thrown in the air by a casino security officer who fled on foot with P2.8 million stolen  from the casino’s vault in Mandaue City.

Police said 29-year-old Pascual Urian Jr., internal security officer of the Casino Filipino Mandaue branch of the Philippine Amusement Gaming Corp. (Pagcor),  was seen hurriedly leaving the building with a plastic bag of money bills at 12:50 a.m. yesterday.

He boarded a taxi and sped off while heavy rain fell.

Bystanders and taxi drivers in the area saw him walking quickly down Mantawi Drive, a street behind the casino.

To ensure a fast getaway, Urian threw P500 and P1,000 bills in the air, which sent onlookers scrambling for the fallen money bills.

Police later recovered P80,000 from some of the bystanders.

A security guard, Violita Ansigbat of the Tactical Security Agency, said she saw Urian carrying a plastic bag with cash bills about to leave the Pagcor casino building. The casino closes at 3 a.m. and opens to patrons at 12 noon.

She said she asked him why he was bringing a bag of cash but Urian didn’t answer her and instead went out the employees exit and ran outside into the rain.

The lady security guard rushed to the police SWAT detachment in the next building behind Pagcor to report what she saw. She also alerted Pagcor Mandaue branch’s chief of internal security, Audi Pobre.

SWAT personnel were able to notice the commotion of bystanders who were scrambling to pick up money bills on the ground.

Police recovered what they could from the people at the scene although other bystanders were no longer found.

They turned over 500 bills of P100 denomination, and 30 bills of P1,000.

Urian left behind a blue coat uniform and ID, which police found on the road near the trucking company.

However, no witness report could identify the license plate of the taxi cab which headed for Cebu City.

The theft was reported by Audi to the Investigative and Detective Management Branch (IDMB) of Mandaue City Police Office (MCPO) at 1:20 .a.m.

A hot pursuit operation led to Urian’s house in barangay Cubacub, Mandaue City but his mother told police he was no longer living there.

Urian had left the household a few months ago after a quarrel with his step father whose motorcycle he pawned without permission.

Police led by Chief Inspector Michael Anthony Bastes, IDMB chief, also went to Urian’s rented room in barangay Punta Engaño, Lapu-Lapu City.

The house owner said he last saw Urian there three days ago.

“We will continue to look for the suspect and coordinate other police units to apprehend him as soon as possible” said Bastes, whose men are checking seaports in case Urian took a ferry.

Police learned that Urian, a native of Capiz in Panay, had piled up debts and owed money to several friends.

He was employed at Pagcor since 2008 and became an organic personnel of a private security agency.

Pobre, chief of Pagcor’s internal security, said they were caught by surprise.

“Wala mi magtuo nga mabuhat to niya kay dugay na baya mi nga maka sulod-sulod diha sa treasury cash vault, unya wala man siya record nga nanghilabot.”

(We couldn’t believe he did that. He’s worked here a long time and would often enter the treasury cash vault. He had no previous record of dishonesty.)