A trailer truck loaded with millions of pesos’ worth of plastic resin imported from Singapore was hijacked by six Chinese-looking armed men in Manila on Saturday early morning, police said. The 40-foot truck was hijacked along Road 10 in North Harbor, Manila at 1:30 a.m. Saturday, Senior Police Officer 3 Benjamin Pampiano said. The driver of the truck, identified as Alejandro Lacea, reported the incident to the Manila police after a group of Chinese-looking armed men stopped and commandeered the vehicle containing its valuable cargo.
Lacea told the police that he was driving the truck along North Harbor when an unidentified man reportedly shouted at him and told him that the vehicle’s taillight was not working, forcing him to stop the truck, After the vehicle halted, the hijackers reportedly grabbed the driver and his helper, Rolando Besajan, and took over the truck. The two victims were supposedly tied up, forced out of the truck and were lodged inside another car, where they were allegedly punched several times by the hijackers. Lacea and his helper were later dumped somewhere in Biak na Bato in Quezon City, police said. Police are now conducting follow-up operations to locate the hijacked truck and the robbers, believed to be Chinese nationals since the victims reported them to be “Chinese-looking" and heard them talking in Chinese during the hijacking incident.—ACC/JV