Policemen arrest 5 robbery gang members; Also involved in ATC robbery

From businessmirror.com.ph:

TUESDAY, 02 OCTOBER 2012 20:21 FERNAN MARASIGAN / REPORTER

THE police announced on Tuesday the arrest of five members of a notorious syndicate said to be responsible for the series of robberies in Metro Manila and nearby provinces.

The Metro Manila police commander, Chief Supt. Leonardo Espina, said the suspects identified as Carlo Sanchez, 23, Michael Dompor, 27, Roger Gallego, 28, Riza Singson 29, and Angie Antonio, 18, were members of the so-called Ozamis Robbery Gang, who according to intelligence reports were about to stage another robbery in Metro Manila this week.

Espina said the arrest of the suspects came after members of the Quezon City police accosted one of them in a checkpoint on Ermin Garcia Street near the corner of Harvard Street in Cubao.

The suspect aboard a motorcycle without license plate, later identified as Gallego, fled toward an apartment that led to the arrest of the other gang members. The apartment is said to be used as the gang’s “safe house,” where they are allegedly planning their next heist.

The suspects were tagged in, among others, the bloody robbery at the Alabang Town Center in Muntinlupa last month, the killing of American Robert Edward Armstrong during the robbery of the 7-Eleven convenience store branch in Malate, Manila, on September 2, and the robberies at LBC branches in Bacoor, Cavite, and Las Piñas City.

Found in the apartment were a customized 9mm Ingram machine pistol, an Uzi submachine gun, a caliber .45 pistol, a 9mm pistol, a caliber .38 revolver, different kinds of ammunition and cellular telephones.

Espina said several police teams are now conducting follow-up operations to arrest the other members of the gang.