Cops neutralize leader of motorcycle thieves in Sultan Kudarat
TIMRA Reports • 17:45 PM Tue Feb 15, 2022
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By:
John M. Unson
TACURONG CITY --- A man implicated in a number of motorcycle theft cases perished in a shootout with policemen over the weekend in Lambayong, Sultan Kudarat, a regional police official said Tuesday.
Brig. Gen. Alexander Tagum, director of the Police Regional Office-12, said Lando Salompong Kalon died from gunshot wounds sustained in a gunfight with policemen in Barangay Didtaras in nearby Lambayong, Sultan Kudarat.
Personnel of the Lambayong Police Station and the Sultan Kudarat Provincial Police were to flag him down to inspect the motorcycle he was riding but he turned around and sped away.
The police had set up the checkpoint, where he was stopped for an inspection, after receiving a report that a certain Richard Cervales, a resident of Lambayong, lost his Bajaj motorcycle to thieves early on.
The policemen at the checkpoint cornered Kalon in Purok Pag-Asa in Barangay Didtaras after a brief chase and tried to subdue him.
Instead of yielding peacefully, Kalon pulled out a .45 caliber pistol and opened fire, provoking a gunfight that resulted in his death.
Police and Army intelligence sources said Kalon belongs to a group that has stolen dozens of motorcycles in one attack after another since 2018 in isolated towns in central Mindanao. (John Unson)