Christmas heist in QC: men posing as cops rob mall

Clad in police uniforms and wielding high-powered weapons, at least nine robbers carted away an undetermined amount from a Quezon City mall in a predawn heist on Christmas Day. The men destroyed the vault of the Ever Gotesco mall along Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City after barging into the premises at about 1:30 a.m., initial police reports said. Radio station dzRH quoted Napoleon Arte - supervisor of the guards at the mall - saying the suspects escaped aboard a black Ford Expedition (WTK-641), a Mitsubishi Pajero, a passenger car, and a Reno taxi after putting the money in three suitcases. Arte said the nine claimed to be responding to an incident at the mall, but suddenly poked their firearms at the guards on duty. They forced the guards to the mall’s third floor and went to the treasurer’s office where they destroyed the vault and took the money. Quezon City police rushed to the scene but the suspects engaged them in a brief shootout before scampering in their vehicles, in separate directions. Recovered from the scene were a shotgun, three cal-.38 revolvers, masking tape, and five handheld radios. Arte said the guards did not immediately accost the men because they wore police uniforms. When one guard noticed the "policemen" were wearing rubber shoes and was about to question them, it was too late as one of the men hit him on the head with his firearm. Inside job? But as of 8 a.m., dzRH radio reported that police have taken at least six security guards of the mall into custody after claiming it was an "inside job." "Iniwan (ng mga suspek) ang baril ng gwardya sa garahe ng Reno Taxi, pagkuha ng pera sumakay sila ng taxi. Ang gwardya ng Reno ang tumawag sa pulis (The suspects left their firearms at the garage of Reno Taxi. The taxi barn’s guards called the police)," the Quezon City Police Station 6 chief, identified only as Col. Agbaua, said on dzBB radio. The Reno taxi garage is located behind the Ever Gotesco mall. When asked about the possibility of an inside job, he said, "positive ang gwardya ng Gotesco by process of elimination (The guards of Gotesco are positive, by process of elimination)." He said they are still looking for at least three more suspects in the robbery. "Inside job, yan ang sabi ng gwardya ng Reno (According to the taxi barn’s guards, it’s an inside job)." Police said they are looking into the possibility of more mall guards from other shifts involved in the crime. They said the guards assigned to the mall are from Bican and Jimenez security agencies. Initial investigation showed four of the men then entered the mall after poking their firearms at seven of the on-duty guards and binding their wrists with masking tape. The men then changed to civilian clothes, which police suspect were taken from the mall’s stores, then escaped on board a Ford Expedition SUV with plate number TVE-146. Police have taken at least 20 of the mall’s security guards for questioning, while Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) teams scoured nearby areas for the SUV. Nov 25 heist Monday’s robbery was similar to a Nov. 25 heist when at least six robbers wearing police uniforms and wielding high-powered firearms took some P1 million from a recruitment agency located near national police headquarters. The six escaped in a Ford Expedition SUV after robbing the Total Integrated Globe Resources (TIGER) Inc. building in Greenview Compound along Santolan Road, Cubao, Quezon City. "I noticed them arrive in front of the building wearing police uniforms. They introduced themselves as policemen," dwIZ radio quoted security guard Rene Relos as saying. But Relos said that immediately after introducing themselves, they poked "high-powered firearms" at him. He did not say if the firearms included pistols or rifles. The six then bound him and entered the building. They reportedly destroyed the vault and took P1 million cash before escaping on board a Ford Expedition SUV. -GMANews.TV