TALAVERA, Nueva Ecija – Four suspects were arrested in a hot pursuit operation after twin heists in Cabanatuan City and this municipality Tuesday afternoon, police said.
The suspects were identified as Emmanuel Dio, Joey Cirecos, and Darwen Basilan, all of Bulacan province; and Arnold Cruz of Isabela.
Col. Richard Caballero, acting director of the Nueva Ecija Police Provincial Office, said the suspects were cornered by a composite team led by Talavera police station in a hotel restaurant in Barangay Sibut, San Jose City in about an hour after robbing a hardware in Barangay Marcos District here at about 5 p.m.
Investigation showed that a few hours prior to the attack on the hardware here, the suspects robbed a bicycle parts shop in Cabanatuan City.
Seized from the suspects were two hand grenades, a .45 and a .9mm handguns, several rounds of bullets, and three motorcycles. Also recovered were P115,910 in cash and 12 mobile phones.
The quick arrest of the suspects was a result of an upscaled anti-criminality strategy.
“Ang mga pulis natin dito sa Talavera nag-conduct kaagad ng hot pursuit that resulted to the arrest of the suspects na pawang dayo dito sa Nueva Ecija,” Caballero said.
Lt. Col. Ranny Casilla, town police chief, said their operation was reinforced by teams from the 2nd provincial mobile field force and the San Jose City police to which jurisdiction the suspects fled and intended to check in a hotel for an overnight stay.
A follow-up investigation showed that one of the suspects has a pending case for frustrated murder and another one faced homicide charges before separate courts in Bulacan, according to Caballero.
