Incidents of car and motorcycle theft fell 30 percent from January to August compared to the same months last year as the Philippine National Police - Highway Patrol Group intensified its operations against the crime.
Car theft incidents fell to 278 this year from 407 last year while motorcycle theft incidents went down to 334 from 407, Inquirer.net reported.
PNP-HPG head chief superintendent Leonardo Espina said the decreasing number of vehicle thefts can be attributed to the police’s intensified operations against notorious vehicle-stealing syndicates.
As of July, the police have arrested and brought down 22 car thieves, including high-profile suspects like Ivan Padilla who was killed in a shootout against law enforcement authorities on August 2. Padilla was the alleged leader of the group behind the theft of Ambassador Roberto Romulo’s Toyota Camry, the Volvo XC90 of the parents of actor Derek Ramsey, and other high-end vehicles.
The report also said the PNP has so far recovered 216 stolen cars and 32 stolen motorcycles.
Photo from SXC.hu
