Suspects junk hijacked truck loaded with rice in Manila

Suspected hijackers, alarmed by checkpoint operations conducted by Manila policemen, abandoned before dawn Friday a stolen truck loaded with P1 million worth of rice in  Sampaloc district.

Operatives of  Manila Police District (MPD) Sampaloc Station 4 recovered at around 4 a.m. Friday an abandoned Isuzu ten-wheeler truck (GDD-357) owned by  Golden Harvest Rice Mill, at the corner of Ramon Magsaysay Boulevard and Santol Street.

Isagani Labasa, a tricycle driver, had tipped off police manning a checkpoint along Santol Street that two men alighted from a loaded truck and flagged him down.

Labasa said the men asked to be brought to the corner of Ramon Magsaysay Boulevard and Maganda Street.  Once there, the men casually walked away.

Finding their moves suspicious, Labasa  proceeded to  MPD Station 4 to report his apprehension, but  operatives failed to catch up with the pair.

MPD Sampaloc Station commander, Supt. Jemar Modequillo revealed that a background check on an abandoned truck nearby revealed that the vehicle had been hijacked along 7th Avenue in Caloocan City while on its way to Tondo.

Cipriano Garcia, 32, a driver of the vehicle belonging to a  rice mill, said he and his helper were cruising along 7th Avenue at around 2 a.m. Friday when they were blocked by a group of men armed with high-powered guns.

Garcia said the armed men ordered them to get off the truck, while two of the hijackers commandeered the vehicle. Garcia said they were then blindfolded and directed to board a van.

Modequillo said the two rice mill employees were dropped off  somewhere along 10th Avenue in Caloocan City, and  immediately sought the help of police.

The Sampaloc police station commander said he is coordinating with the Highway Patrol Group in Camp Crame for the identification and arrest of the suspects in the hijacking.