Isabela pawnshop loses cash, jewelry to burglars

SANTIAGO CITY, Isabela – A pawnshop in Aurora town in this province lost some P200,000 in cash and P1.4 million worth of jewelry to burglars who used an underground tunnel to penetrate its vault over the weekend. Initial investigation said the suspects dug their way to the pawnshop owned by a certain Teodorico Garcia and left with their loots. The group left behind a hydraulic jack, an oxygen tank, two portable acetylene tanks, a screw driver, a bolt cutter and several pairs of gloves, according to police reports. Some blankets and sleeping gears were also found, prompting investigators to surmise that the suspects stayed inside the pawnshop for some time. Pawnshops here are normally closed during weekends. Police tagged members of the Samahang Ifugao-Igorot Group (SIIG) gang for the burglary. The group reportedly operates in regions I (Ilocos Region) and II (Cagayan Valley). The group was also blamed for the break-in inside a grocery store in Solano town in Nueva Vizcaya last June where they took away some P3 million in cash. A closed circuit television was able to record the burglary. - Floro Taguinod/KBK, GMANews.TV