Members of 'acetylene gang' charged for Daet jewel shop robberies

DAET, Camarines Norte: Six members of the so called, “Acetylene gang” whose original members come from Isabela and the Mountain Province were identified and charged by the local police with “robbery with use of force” before the Provincial Prosecution Office, said Daet municipal police station head, Supt Allan Olea Ramos.

The name of the suspects and their local cohorts are withheld pending the ongoing police operation, Police Supt. Ramos said.

Ramos said that the “acetylene gang” started as a transient criminal group but has since recruited local members. The gang is suspected to have robbed four adjacent pawnshops along Vinzons Ave. in Daet in March this year.

Owners of the pawnshops have recently reported to the Philippine National Police of having been robbed of huge amount of cash and jewelries, including P5 million from the Cariñosa Pawnshop; P800,000 from the Nalisbitan and 14-K pawnshops; and P2 million from the Wiltan shop, for a total of P7.8-Million.

According to reports, the gang-members dug a tunnel into the floor of the Cariñosa Pawnshop then bore a hole on the walls of the 3 adjacent shops. – Vox Bikol