Shoplifting gang arrested in Cebu

CEBU CITY — Police arrested nine suspected members of a shoplifting group after catching one of them stealing a pair of pants from a large shopping mall in Barangay Mambaling on Wednesday.

Security personnel caught 35-year-old Angelica Capales of Quezon City trying to leave the store with an unpaid item tucked into her waist. They turned her over to the Mambaling Police Station, where she admitted having eight accomplices still inside the mall.

Police, led by Maj. Kenneth Paul Albotra of the City Investigation and Detection Unit, launched a follow-up operation and arrested the eight other suspects one by one.

Authorities identified them as Marilyn Traspaderme Lavistre, 37; Liza Lavistre, 38; Nekia Lavistre Francisco, 20; Mark Talinio Castillo, 40 — all from Quezon City; Jason Pia Lozada, 44, of Sogod, Southern Leyte; Maricel Cruz Corre, 38, of Caloocan City; Geralyn Ortea Perje, 39, of Quezon City; and Charneth Corpuz, 18, of Sampaloc, Manila.

Police seized assorted branded clothing worth around P100,000 from the suspects.

LtCol. Maria Theresa Macatangay, deputy city director for operations of the Cebu City Police Office, said police had begun monitoring the suspects after receiving a tip on July 7 about shoplifters arriving in Cebu City. She confirmed that the same group had already been involved in mall thefts in Cagayan de Oro and Iloilo City. She added that they had targeted areas with large malls and access to branded merchandise.

Macatangay said the suspects rented an apartment in the city and used it as hideout and storage area for stolen goods.

Police learned that the group had already shipped stolen items — such as designer pants, shirts, bags, and shoes — to their contact in Metro Manila via parcel delivery. That contact allegedly resold the items at half their mall prices, funding the suspects’ operations in other cities.

Mall security personnel said the suspects used techniques to bypass anti-theft alarm systems, including covering security tags with other clothing items. One of the guards noticed Capales acting suspiciously and followed her until she was seen hiding a shirt in her waistband, prompting immediate arrest.

Police have already identified the group’s local contacts in Cebu and are preparing further operations. Reporters tried to interview the suspects, but they refused to give any statements.