Supt. James Goforth, chief of police of Dumaguete, the capital of Negros Oriental, has stressed the need to strengthen security measures at all points of entry and exit in the province.
According to Goforth, seaports and the lone airport in Negros Oriental have to institute tighter security measures to aid law enforcers in their anti-criminality campaign.
Safety nets such as utilizing security cameras, K-9 sniffing dogs and X-ray machines and close scrutiny of bags, luggage and cargoes as well as vehicles would largely help the police not just in preventing crimes but also in their post-crime investigation and the tracking down of suspects.
Goforth’s statement comes following the daytime robbery of a pawnshop in Dumaguete City last Saturday involving at least ten suspects, all believed to be coming from Mindanao.
A black Toyota Revo and three motorcycles used as getaway vehicles during the hold-up incident were traced to have originated from Mindanao on a roll-on, roll-off vessel which left Dapitan port and arrived in Dumaguete hours before the robbery was pulled on the same day.
The registration papers of the said vehicles are suspected to be dubious, Goforth said.
Also, the police chief said he believes that the high powered firearms and hand guns recovered from the abandoned Revo were slipped through the ports unnoticed.
One of the suspects, Jesuslo Alegria, who was arrested during a dragnet operation, claimed he was from Pagadian City in Zamboanga del Sur. He and his companions are believed to be members of an organized crime group based in the Pagadian-Ozamiz areas, Goforth said. Alegria was charged in court on Tuesday, along with other “John Does” for robbery-in-band and illegal possession of firearms and an explosive.
Recovered from Alegria were valuable jewelry amounting to an estimated P5-million.
The other suspects continue to remain at large. (PNA)
