Thieves steal jewelry of Virgin Mary's statue in Lapu-Lapu City

Thieves broke into the Lapu-Lapu City Church on Wednesday and stole the precious rings, bracelets and a necklace worn by the image of the Blessed Virgin Mary.   In a report on "Unang  Balita," Lou-Anne Mae Rondina of GMA News Cebu also said envelopes believed to contain cash donations from devotees were found scattered on the floor.  The report quoted Police Senior Chief Inspector Christian Torres as saying "cops are looking at the possibility of an inside job." Torres who heads the Theft and Robbery Section of the city's police office, also said there were no traces of forced entry in the crime scene. He also wondered why the crime scene was immediately tidied up; valuable pieces of evidence could have been lost in the cleanup. Virgilio Camposo, Maintenance-in-charge was the first to discover that the casing of the image was broken. A CCTV camera was in place but it was not working according to a priest. Meanwhile, Ricardo Lakite, head of the Parish Security Group said no one was around at the supposed time of the robbery, and that he made sure  the church's doors were locked. The report said police investigators have already taken fingerprints of the nine church personnel as investigation into the incident continues.  — Andrei Medina /LBG, GMA News