Sisters in crime? Two 'fixers' arrested in Quezon City entrapment
They say sisters make the best friends in the world.
In the case of these two from Tondo, Manila, they turned out to be "partners in crime" that landed them in jail following an anti-fixing operation of the Land Transportation Office (LTO) near the agency’s Central Office in Quezon City.
LTO chief Assistant Secretary Vigor D. Mendoza II identified them as Teresita and Kathleen Joy dela Cruz, adding that the suspects are now detained at the QC Police District Station 10, and are facing a case for swindling/estafa.
The case stemmed from the complaint of a 26-year old man who tapped them to secure his non-professional driver’s license for P6,800 on March 8.
But almost a month after the payment was made, the two sisters demanded another P1,300 from the victim, who in turn, sought the assistance of the police.
The dela Cruz sisters were arrested at around 2 p.m. on Monday, April 1, in Barangay Pinyahan, Quezon City in an entrapment operation conducted by joint personnel from the LTO and QCPD Station 10.
Mendoza warned the public against fixers that include scammers online.
“We would like to remind the public again that our transaction in the LTO is already fast. So please do not be fooled by the sweet words of these fixers,”’ said Mendoza.
“This should also send a strong message that the LTO is serious in its goal of weeding out fixers and scammers using our agency,” he added.
Mendoza also reiterated his instruction to all LTO regional directors to continuously implement the aggressive campaign against fixers in their respective areas and beef up the information drive to deny fixers and online scammers to victimized LTO clients.