GENERAL SANTOS CITY, May 4 (PNA) — The police created tracker teams in parts of South Cotabato to spearhead operations against carnappers and suspects in related crimes in the area.
Chief Insp. Arnold Carino, chief of the South Cotabato-Highway Patrol Group (HPG), said Thursday the move is in line with their efforts to effectively address cases of carnapping or vehicle theft within the province’s 10 towns and lone city.
He said their operations are currently focused on organized carnapping groups operating in parts of the province.
The official said they received intelligence reports that several syndicates were behind some of the recent carnapping incidents, especially those in Koronadal City and other key localities.
These cases mainly involved motorcycle theft, he said.
Carino said the tracker teams are led by HPG operatives and assisted by personnel from local police units.
Citing their records, he said 33 motorcycle theft incidents occurred in the province from January to April this year.
Koronadal City reported the most number of cases with 23, he said.
But Carino said 24 of the involved motorcycles were recovered by their operatives in coordination with other police units.
“Some of these motorcycles were brought to nearby provinces and sold at much cheaper prices,” he said.
The police official urged residents, especially motorcycle owners, to avoid parking their vehicles in unsecured places.
He noted that about 75 percent of the carnapping cases in the area were due to such problem.
“They should not also leave their gadgets like cellphones and mobile tablets in their vehicles as they could attract these thieves,” he added.
(AVE/AMS/PNA)
