Police nab 2 suspects in Rizal pawnshop robbery

Two suspects tagged in a robbery of a pawnshop in Taytay, Rizal were arrested by police authorities before dawn Friday, according to an exclusive report on GMA News' "24 Oras." The newscast only identified one suspect as Allen Lagtiwan. The two suspected robbery gang members were believed to be miners from Benguet province. "Miyembro sila ng Igorot Acetylene Robbery Group," Taytay police chief Supt. Arthur Masongsong said in the report. The suspects dug a 100-meter underground tunnel toward the vault of the Tambunting Pawnshop, according to the newscast.
They were arrested after a "concerned citizen" tipped off the police about the unusual sounds he heard during the tunnel-digging, the report said. "Bandang alas-dos, may narinig kaming kumalabog," said Herbert Rubaya, a tricycle driver, who was near the pawnshop. The suspects crawled in a narrow drainage and made a hole opening through the pawnshop and lifted the flooring with hydraulic jack, the report said. However, the pawnshop’s vault was never penetrated by the suspected robbers, it added. Recovered from them were an oxygen tank, hydraulic jack, and liquefied petroleum gas tank — the usual tools for digging tunnels. The Philippine National Police is investigating if important possessions were lost inside the pawnshop. The report said further investigations are ongoing to determine whether the suspects have something to do with similar incidents in Metro Manila, where several pawnshops had been victimized by robbers digging an underground tunnel to gain entry without being noticed. Tambunting Pawnshop refused to issue any statement, saying that the shop management will let the police unearth other matters relating to the robbery. Police said they are still investigating if the suspects held under their custody have accomplices in the pawnshop robbery. — JE/VS, GMA News