THE Regional Highway Patrol Unit Central Visayas (RHPU-7) arrested a man who was caught driving a stolen taxi unit along Villagonzalo 1, barangay Tejero in Cebu City on Monday afternoon.
Romel Montellano, 30, was collared on board Aerol taxi, a Toyota Vios with a fake plate number, GXM-814.
The taxi unit had been reported missing since January 8. The RHPU-7 operatives were able to track down the unit based on tips from informants.
Montellano tried to escape when he realized that the operatives were about to pounce on him. He could not drive off because he was stuck in traffic. He tried to run away but bystanders stopped him from fleeing.
Recovered from the suspect were two knives and the original plate number of the vehicle – AXA-7361. The last digit of the plate number was tampered to make it look like number 4 instead of 1.