ROBBERY GANG. Six robbery suspects evade questions from reporters after their arrest in Kidapawan City, North Cotabato on Tuesday afternoon (July 18, 2023). The suspects allegedly robbed at gunpoint a delivery truck earlier on the same day in adjacent Makilala town and fled towards Kidapawan where they were cornered (inset) by pursuing police units. (Photo by John Andrew Tabugoc)
MAKILALA, North Cotabato – Authorities are set to file charges against six robbery suspects who were arrested in a pursuit operation after a highway robbery incident in Barangay Malasila here Tuesday afternoon.
Lt Col. Britz Estadilla Sales, Makilala Police director, identified the arrested suspects as Allan Colita Miesco, 49; Gemar Solidag Tipan, 36; Manilito Paragas Linda, 42; Dennis Singson Sefuentes, 40; Denver Jay Sefuentes, 35; and Arcadio Dupa Sefuentes Jr., 57. They are all from Davao Oriental province.
“We were able to get the real identity of the suspects after a backtrack investigation and coordination with other police units in Davao region,” Sales said in an interview here Wednesday.
Police investigators are continuously tracing if the suspects have pending cases in court, she added.
The suspects were arrested in a pursuit operation in adjacent Kidapawan City after the reported robbery incident against a delivery truck here where they carted away PHP50,000 in sales collection money.
“We immediately dispatched flash alarms in neighboring police stations and were able to flag down their getaway vehicle along Kidapawan City’s commercial center,” Sales said, adding that the suspects were aboard a pickup truck.
Lt. Col. Peter Pinalgan, Kidapawan Police chief, said they immediately alerted their field units, mounted checkpoints, and monitored security cameras across the city after receiving the alert from the Makilala Police.
“I think they were overwhelmed by the positioned police units that forced them to surrender and disembark from the vehicle,” he said.
Recovered from the suspects’ vehicle were two 9-mm pistols, two .45-caliber pistols, ammunition, two sachets of suspected shabu, and PHP35,550 in cash.
They are currently detained at the Makilala Police lock-up. (PNA)
