Lone cop arrests six petty thieves

A keen instinct enabled a lone Manila police officer yesterday to singlehandedly arrest six pickpockets who operate as a group in preying on jeepney passengers.

Veteran undercover officer Senior Inspector Edgar Carpio, of the Manila Police District’s theft and robbery section, was on patrol along Taft Avenue in his car when eight men who boarded a jeepney spotted his attention.

Suspecting them to be a gang, Carpio tailed the jeepney and later saw the men disembark upon reaching the Philippine Women’s University. They took another jeepney.

"Their actions further fueled my suspicions that they are up to something sinister, so I kept my eyes on them," Carpio told The STAR.

When the group got off on Malvar street, Carpio asked a traffic aide for backup and accosted the men. He noticed one of the men intentionally drop a mobile phone to the ground when he introduced himself as an officer.

Two of the men fled but the rest surrendered peacefully. They were identified during questioning later at the station as Edgardo Grindolo, 45; Pepito Villanueva, 35; Joel Joyosa, 34; Blandino Paran, 28; Ezer Fortuna, 25; and Randy Ortega, 29.

They admitted being members of the so-called "Laglag Barya Gang." Their modus operandi is to distract their victim’s attention by dropping coins on the jeepney. They would pretend to pick up the coins while an accomplice picks the victim’s pocket or bag.

The cellular phone was traced to Margie Lyn Pantalla, 30. She told the police that her phone was stolen while her attention was distracted. The suspects got off the jeepney laughing, Pantalla added.