These thieves in Iloilo use ‘poison’ to steal rice

A gang of thieves is using poisoned sausages to steal rice and rice seeds from families in Pototan town in Iloilo province.

The victims suspected the thieves might have poisoned to the families' guard dogs, killing some of them, GMA Iloilo's Joecel Huesca reported.

One of the victim families, the Galapins, woke up Tuesday morning to find they lost eight sacks of rice seeds – and their guard dog dead.

Families in three other households also discovered their guard dogs were dead, prompting them to suspect the thieves poisoned the dogs.

"Dahil kung hindi nila nilason, hindi nila mapapasok ang bahay, dahil ang aso, kakagatin ka nun at ang mga aso sa kabilang bahay, tatahol talaga sila at nangangagat talaga," said Andres Galapin.

Last year, a similar modus operandi was used by thieves who took hand tractors in the area.

An initial investigation also showed the suspects made off with the stolen rice seeds aboard a taxi. — Joel Locsin /LBG, GMA News