MANILA, Philippines — A dismissed police officer and five of his alleged cohorts were arrested for allegedly breaking into the home of a vlogger in Caloocan City on Friday, the Philippine National Police Highway Patrol Group (PNP-HPG) said.
Intelligence operatives had been monitoring the group for the past month and caught the suspects after they broke into the vlogger’s home in Barangay 29 on Friday morning, HPG spokesperson Lt. Nadame Malang told reporters.
“There was a chase… During our apprehension, the former police officer drew a gun, prompting our operatives to defend themselves… This resulted in the former police officer being hit in the foot,” he said in Filipino.
“Another driver managed to reach his car to attempt to flee. However, he was stopped by other teams from the Special Operations Division,” he added.
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Malang also said that once caught, the dismissed police officer and four of his alleged cohorts pointed to a supposed “team leader” who was “monitoring” the situation from a few blocks away, but was later also arrested by police operatives.
The HPG spokesperson did not immediately identify either the victim or the suspects, except for the ex-police officer, noting that he was a patrolman formerly assigned to the National Capital Region Police Office until his dismissal from the service in 2023 for grave misconduct.
“One of them claimed to be a barangay staff member from the local government unit. One was identified as a businessman. Another as a vendor. They used various identification cards, and we are validating whether these are legitimate or not,” he said in Filipino.
Malang also said the group had been previously involved in “rent-tangay” schemes, where suspects allegedly rented vehicles and later used them for illegal activities, as well as in carnapping motorcycles and transporting them to another location using a rented van.
He further said one of the suspects had previously posed as local government staff to deliver a birthday cake to a Quezon City resident, but then allegedly tied up the residents and ransacked their home after gaining entry.
Two vehicles, several identification cards—including a Philippine National Police (PNP) ID—a 9mm pistol, a revolver, and several pieces of live ammunition were confiscated from the suspects, according to Malang.
In a text message later on Friday, Malang added that a technical inspection of the seized vehicles led to the discovery of another firearm of unspecified caliber, a hand grenade, and at least two pouches of suspected shabu (crystal meth).
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The six arrested suspects may face charges of frustrated robbery, as well as violations of Republic Act No. 10883 or the New Anti-Carnapping Act, and Republic Act No. 10591 or the Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Act. /mcm
