Kabacan carnapping gang leader killed in police operation

KIDAPAWAN CITY --A suspected motorcycle thief was killed after he engaged in an hour-long running gun battle with police operatives in Kabacan, North Cotabato, around 3 p.m., Tuesday. Senior Superintendent Alex Tagum, provincial director of the Cotabato Provincial Police Office (CPPO), identified the suspect as Ramil Piang of Barangay Pedtad, Kabacan. Piang, according to Tagum, was a member of a carnapping syndicate whose base is located at Purok Krislam, Poblacion in Kabacan. Purok Krislam, reports said, is a known ‘haven’ of big-time suppliers of shabu, a known illegal drug. Tagum said operatives of the Kabacan municipal police station were conducting a case buildup of Piang’s group after they received ‘tips’ from informants that some individuals inside Purok Krislam are ‘keeping’ stolen motorcycles and cars. However, some residents of Purok Krislam tipped Piang’s group that members of the intelligence unit of the Kabacan PNP were conducting ‘surveillance’ and ‘monitoring’. Tagum said that as soon as Piang learned about it, the suspect and his men immediately fled from the area. While on the run, they engaged the police in a gun battle until they reached the rice paddies, just located at the back of the Purok Krislam. Piang was hit by bullets fired at by an operative of the Kabacan PNP, according to Tagum. Tagum said they won’t stop until they have neutralized Piang’s group after members of the group were able to escape from the dragnet operations.