3 expats in Iloilo robberies detained at BI
MANILA – Two Pakistanis and an Iranian were detained at the Bureau of Immigration in Manila yesterday following their arrest in Iloilo for robbing a supermarket and money changer shop there, allegedly after hypnotizing the employees in the said establishments.
Pakistanis Imram Hussain and Yawar Tahir and Iranian Roshandal Hussein are now inside the BI detention center in Bicutan and facing criminal and deportation proceedings.
The three suspects were presented to the media yesterday by Justice Secretary Leila De Lima, BI Associate Commissioners Roy Almoro and Enrique Galang and Assistant State Prosecutor Severino Gana at the Department of Justice Building in Manila.
Charges of theft or violation of Article 308 of the revised penal code were filed against the suspects before the Iloilo provincial prosecutor’s office.
They were later turned over to the BI after they posted bail for their temporary liberty and they will undergo deportation proceedings for being undesirable aliens in violation of the country’s immigration laws.
Almoro stressed that the foreigner will not be deported until after they are convicted by the court and have served their sentences.
The criminal information against the aliens alleged that last July 3, the suspects conspired in robbing the DLS Supermart in Janiuay, Iloilo of cash amounting to P23,500.
One of the suspects allegedly stole the money from the cash register while the two others engaged the cashier, bagger and a customer in a conversation to distract their attention.
The cashier later testified that she smelled something unusual which caused her to momentarily lost her senses.
Supermarket staffers, however, were able to alert the authorities about the incident which resulted to their arrest by elements of the Janiuay police station.
Following their arrest, the Janiuay police received a report that the three suspects were also responsible for robbing the A & B Money Changer shop and Lhuillier pawnshop in Santa Barbara, Iloilo.
Almoro said the aliens will remain confined at the Bicutan jail while their criminal case is being heard before the Iloilo City regional trial court. PNA
