10 arrested for robbery try on Cavite pawnshop

Ten men allegedly involved in a robbery attempt on a pawnshop in Cavite province were arrested Saturday morning in their hideout, a belated police report said Sunday. The suspected robbers, believed to be members of a “tunnel robbery" group targeting pawnshops, were nabbed in police operations on an isolated area in Mangahan in General Trias town at around 5 a.m., the Cavite Provincial Police Office said. The suspects were identified as Butalag Botsicao, Benido Dalligos, Benjamin Bas-angen, Antonio Bastianugalde, Bruce Dizon, Sammy Galdones, Eddie Marcelo, Lito Hernando, Benjamin Dacio and Rafael Dizon. Most of the suspects are construction workers from Ilocos Sur, according to the police report.

The 10 men were arrested two days after personnel of a pawnshop in General Trias discovered a hole inside the lobby of their building, believed to be a “mistaken passage" for the robbers targeting the pawnshop’s vault. An acetylene tank, hydraulic jacks and flashlights were recovered inside the hole, according to the police. Follow-up operations were launched to track down the persons behind the failed robbery, leading to the suspects’ arrest, the police added. Recovered in the suspects’ hideout were several digging tools, a revolver, and four different kinds of ammunition. Criminal cases are currently being readied against the suspected robbers, the police report said. Local police are also determining as of posting time if the robbery attempt in Cavite is related to another “tunnel robbery" in Pasay City last December. - Andreo Calonzo/KBK, GMANews.TV