ILOILO City – For allegedly victimizing several cars in this city, a suspected fuel thief was arrested over the weekend in Barangay San Rafael, Mandurriao district.
Two police officers caught in the act 37-year-old Steen Dy of Barangay Ungka II, Pavia, Iloilo trying to steal – this time – a spare tire of a car.
Dy was charged with attempted theft, resistance and disobedience, oral defamation, and assault upon an agent of a person in authority for resisting arrest.
“Matagal na natin siyang sinusundan,” said Police Major Kenneth Jay Gratones, Mandurriao police chief.
Gratones said the suspect’s identity was zeroed in through closed-circuit television (CCTV) footages.
Last month, a female car owner from Mandurriao who requested anonymity reported to the police her car fuel was siphoned at Smallville Complex.
A footage from a nearby security camera showed a man lurking near the car, his face unrecognizable because the area was dimly lit.
According to Gratones, Dy’s modus operandi was to look for dim parking areas.
He targeted cars’ rubber gas lines that connect the fuel filling area to the main tank, then he will siphon the gas direct to his container.
Four car fuel theft incidents were recorded in Jaro and Mandurriao districts, data from the Iloilo City Police Office (ICPO) showed.
Dy admitted to being responsible in such cases during an interrogation, said ICPO director, Police Colonel Leo Batiles.
“We hope na wala nang may masunod na biktima,” Batiles said.
Dy was reportedly operating alone and was selling his stolen items to the province at a lower price.
“We are calling other victims to report to the Mandurriao police station so more cases will be filed against the suspect,” Batiles added./PN
