It’s not exactly an original getaway plan, but unfortunately, it works.
A group of suspected gang members pulled off a daring heist in Marikina City by digging a tunnel to a pawnshop, and looting cash and jewelry worth hundreds of thousands.
The elaborate crime was discovered by police authorities and two employees of the establishment after the pawnshops’s burglar alarm repeatedly went off on Mon morning, Feb 6.
According to initial investigations, the alarm of the Capital Pawnshop first went off at 10pm on Sunday night, but the responding police officers left the premises upon seeing that there was no sign of illegal activity.
When the alarm again went off thirty minutes later, the police decided to call the owners of the pawnshop. The authorities and employees then discovered a hole on the establishment’s floor.
The robbers were able to get away with around PHP600,000 and USD1,850 in cash plus valuables worth PHP20,000.
“Recovered inside the tunnel were two hydraulic jacks, a steel saw, two steel bars and different sizes of wood,” Philippine Daily Inquirer reports.
According to authorities, there were probably five to six people involved in the heist, based on the number of gloves left in the crime scene.
The crime has been linked to the so-called “Termite or Acetylene Gang,” which has been known for its modus of digging underground to break into establishments.
In 2014, robbers were able to take off with about PHP5 million worth of items from a Pasig pawnshop using the same modus.
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