By Richielyn Canlas
Five alleged members of the notorious “Ipit Gang” were arrested after attempting to rob a female security guard inside a UV Express van in Pasig City on June 12.
According to police, the suspects — identified as “Marbert,” “Amado,” “Jonas,” “Ronny,” and “Marvin” — boarded the vehicle posing as regular passengers.
Once inside, they executed a coordinated scheme: two suspects sat beside the victim, deliberately squeezing and pinning her to restrict movement, while the other three created a noisy distraction in front.
This allowed the pair to secretly open the victim’s backpack and steal her mobile phone.
The victim discovered the theft at the C-5 Road intersection in Barangay Ugong and confronted the group, but they denied the accusation and quickly fled by transferring to a passing commuter bus.
She chased them on foot and alerted patrolling Eastern Police District (EPD) officers, who boarded the bus and detained all five suspects.
A search recovered the stolen phone from “Amado,” along with an improvised handgun and over 10 grams of suspected shabu.
The suspects now face charges of conspiracy to commit theft, illegal drug possession under RA 9165, and violation of the firearms regulation law (RA 10591).
