Cops verify link of drug suspects in ‘basag kotse’ operation
Iloilo City Police Office (ICPO) Director Sr. Supt. Melvin Mongcal said they are verifying the possible involvement of drug suspects in the Basag Kotse operation after arresting two persons involved in illegal drugs who had hammer, towel and carton in their possession.
Mongcal said they have already inquired from the Bacolod City Police Office about the cases slapped against Francisco Lavega who has criminal records in Bacolod City.
Lavega along with Nestor Villasis were arrested by the joint team of the Iloilo City Mobile Group and Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) afternoon of October 19 at Brgy. Tanza Esperanza, Iloilo City.
The arrest was made not because the two were suspects in the Basag Kotse operation but due to illegal drugs. However, the arresting officers found a hammer, towel and a piece of carton in the possession of the suspects. They are also checking on whether Villasis have other cases in Iloilo City.
Police recovered two sachets of suspected shabu in the possession of the two suspects. The police were also armed with a warrant of arrest issued by a judge in Bacolod. The court set P120,000 bailbond for the release of Lavega.
Police received information that suspects in the Basag Kotse operations in Iloilo City immediately transfer to Bacolod City after committing the crime here.
The mere possession of a hammer, towels and the fact that one of the suspects is from Bacolod puzzled the police, said Mongcal.
Reportedly, Basag Kotse gang use a hammer wrapped in a towel in breaking the glass of the vehicle they want to victimize. The crashing sound of the glass is controlled with the help of the towel.
Mongcal said the suspects are undergoing custodial investigation. The arrest and recovery of a hammer and towel already proves that somehow the information on the Basag Kotse suspects is true. They are hoping to get valuable information which could lead to the identification of the suspects in the Basag Kotse gang and their eventual arrest.
In a radio interview, the suspects denied any participation in the Basag Kotse operation though they admitted they are in “tirtir operation”, or in pickpockets operation inside the passenger jeeps. They both denied owning the hammer and the towel. They did not deny the suspected shabu was recovered from their possession.
Lavega, who used the pseudonym Edgar Torre denied his involvement in the Basag Kotse operation. He said he changed his name from Freddie Lavega to Edgar Torre to find work in the city considering he has pending warrant of arrest in Bacolod City.
He temporarily stays in Muelle Loney, City Proper. Villasis is from Tanza Baybay, City Proper. They are now detained at the Police Station 1 pending the investigation and filing of appropriate charges against them.
Lavega said he and Villasis are only into “tirtir.” They used the carton to hide their hands while slipping it into the pockets or bags of their victims.