By CALVIN CORDOVA
CEBU CITY – Is there a financier backing a group of suspected thieves operating in Cebu?
Police are trying to find this out after five members of the “Salisi Gang” were arrested after they victimized several mall goers at South Road Properties here.
Police Lt. Col. Gerard Ace Pelare said the suspects admitted that they have cohorts who are still in Cebu.
“This is a highly organized group. They are engaging in planned operations. They go to malls then will return to their apartment or safehouse then they operate again. They have been staying here for one month and we are checking who are their other victims,” said Pelare, spokesperson of Police Brig. Gen. Anthony Aberin, chief of the Police Regional Office-Central Visayas (PRO-7).
The suspects, Jessica Santos Sarco, 35; Mark Anthony Balan, 30; Mark Anthony Aragosa, 26; Jerico Sarco, 24, and Marichar Parindol, 42, were all caught in a mall where a string of theft incidents took place.
Police investigation showed that Jessica, Jerico, and Balan are from Bulacan, while Parindol and Aragosa are from Cavite.
The suspects admitted they arrived in Cebu last month and stayed in a boarding house in Barangay Carreta here.
Pelare said operations to arrest the suspects’ cohorts are ongoing. He added that some of their cohorts are from Mindanao and Luzon and they have been identified during the custodial debriefing.
Police are intensifying its intelligence monitoring to locate the whereabouts of the other members of the group, Pelare said.
Police advised the public to always be on alert when in public places. “Do not be complacent. Do not engage with strangers because they could be members of Salisi Gang. Be mindful of your valuables always,” Pelare said.