Police Arrest Basag-Kotse Suspect in Manila
BASAG KOTSE – The police authorities arrested a 48-year-old man behind a basag-kotse incident in Manila, sending him back to jail.
According to authorities, the crime happened around 6:30 p.m. on Sunday in the parking lot of a mall in Tondo. The suspect reportedly smashed the front passenger-side window of a parked vehicle and stole a laptop.
Investigators said the suspect was highly experienced, breaking the window cleanly and quickly without scattering glass. Police estimated the entire theft took only two to five minutes.
“Talagang batikan siyang basag kotse kasi hindi nag-scattered yung window, talagang buo siya, tinutulak lang. Beterano na ito, definitely. Between 2 to 5 minutes, ganun siya kabilis,” Moriones Police chief Police Lieutenant Colonel Gilbert Cruz said.
CCTV footage showed the suspect walking away from the scene carrying the stolen bag. Although the actual moment of the break-in was not captured, the footage helped authorities track his movements as he exited the mall.
“Hindi natin nakita yung kanyang mismong actual crime niya pero pag nakita natin, siya lang naman yung naglalakad palabas na unang CCTV. Then paglabas ng mall, nakita na pati yung dala niya na may bitbit na siya. Bag na naglalaman ito ng laptop,” Cruz added.
The victim immediately reported the incident to the mall security and then to the police. Within four hours, Moriones Police tracked the suspect to his home in Tondo, where they recovered the stolen laptop along with a .48 caliber firearm and live ammunition.
The suspect refused to give a statement regarding the crime. Police records revealed that he had previously been jailed in Makati in 2020 for the same basag-kotse modus. He was also on the barangay watchlist for multiple theft-related incidents in the area.
The suspect is now detained at the Moriones Police custodial facility. He faces charges of theft and violation of Republic Act 10591, which covers illegal possession of firearms and ammunition.
In a similar post, another netizen victimized by basag kotse in Bacolod City
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