Six members of Salisi gang from Tondo, Manila were arrested after they divested a businessman from Consolacion town in northern Cebu of P350,000 cash on Monday evening.
Sheena Delos Santos, Joyce Bautista, Michael Fuentes, Emiliano Villariaz Jr., Joveth Alfonso and Michael Salguerro, both of legal age from Tondo, Manila are now under the custody of Consolacion police pending the filing of charges against them.
Senior Insp. William Homoc, chief of Consolacion Police Station, revealed that the suspects arrived at the town’s public market, where the 47-year-old victim Pablito Ceballos operates a sari-sari store, on board a Toyota Innova vehicle around 5 p.m. Monday.
The victim narrated to the police that while he was busy attending to some customers who were later identified as members of the Salisi gang, another person took his bag containing the P350,000 proceeds from the store.
Luckily, Ceballos was able to get the plate number of the vehicle they were using and immediately reported the matter to the police.
Homoc and his team immediately conducted a hot pursuit operation against the suspects until they cornered them at the South Road Properties in Cebu City.
Police confiscated two .45 pistols from Villariaz and Salgurro, small sachets of suspected shabu and drug paraphernalia, jewelry items, mobile phones, yellow shoulder bag owned by Ceballos but the cash was already missing.
Homoc added that Mark Anthony Rosales, also from Tondo, Manila and of legal age, a cohort of the six suspects who was able to elude arrest might have taken the P350,000.
According to the suspects, they brought the Toyota Innova vehicle (RDV 702) all the way from Manila via Bicol and Masbate and they rented it for P1,500 a day.
Homoc said the suspects admitted that they were able to victimize around six persons in Consolacion since 2014 until the present.
“Nanawagan ko sa uban pang biktima sa Salisi gang nga modangop diri sa police station aron pasakaan og dugang kaso ang mga suspek (I’m calling on those who have been victimized by this Salisi gang to come to our office so that additional charges can be filed against the suspects),” said Homoc.
Cases of theft, illegal possession of firearms and violation of Section 11 and 12 (possession of shabu and drug paraphernalia) of RA 9165 are set to be filed against the suspects today.