5 Ozamiz mall heist suspects nabbed

AUTHORITIES have apprehended five individuals responsible for the robbery at Gaisano Mall in Ozamiz City on January 1, following a two-day manhunt.

Police Col. Dwight Monato, Provincial Director of the Misamis Occidental Provincial Police Office, credited the successful arrest to the efforts of personnel from the Ozamiz City Police Station, led by Police Major Dennis Tano.

The suspects, whose names were not disclosed by the police, reportedly confessed to the crime. They claimed to have been acting on the orders of a couple from Baybay, Barangay Triunfo, who allegedly masterminded the entire robbery. According to the suspects, they handed over all stolen items to the said couple.

The police report indicated that the burglars made off with an estimated amount of P30 million in cash and jewelry. Their mode of entry involved digging a tunnel from a carnival fair located beside the store, leading underneath to a food court.

Witnesses positively identified the arrested individuals as the perpetrators of the heist. Authorities recovered clothing believed to have been worn during the robbery and various digging tools at the entrance and exit points of the tunnel.

Upon gaining access, the suspects targeted an automated teller machine (ATM) installed by Metrobank, seizing cash ranging from P50,000 to P80,000. The initial inventory of stolen cash and jewelry from Oro Italia Jewelry Shop was estimated by investigators to be P30,678,079.

Other affected businesses are yet to disclose their inventory of losses.

A criminal case of robbery has been formally forwarded to the Ozamiz City Prosecutor’s Office against the five suspects, who are currently in custody at the police station awaiting transfer to a jail facility.

As of now, the Ozamiz City Police Station tracker team is conducting a series of hot pursuit operations to potentially identify and apprehend other individuals involved in the robbery, including the implicated couple.