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CEBU CITY, Philippines ? Police are still trying to verify if the eight vehicles recovered from the cities of Mandaue and Talisay are stolen vehicles.
Senior Superintendent Jesus Manubay, chief of the Highway Patrol Group in Central Visayas (HPG-7), said the vehicles would only be confirmed as stolen if the real owner would show up and claim these.
Aside from this, police are also trying to trace the original owners of the recovered vehicles.
Superintendent Juanito Enguerra, Criminal Investigation and Detection Group in Central Visayas (CIDG-7) deputy chief, earlier said they would coordinate with authorized car distributors to identify the original owners of the vehicles.
This process, however, would take time.
The confiscated Sports Utility Vehicles, pickups and vans had allegedly fake plates and allegedly owned by controversial car dealer Reynold dela Torre.
Dela Torre, who owns a used car dealer shop, Vans Auto Square, was implicated in carnapping case after his brother-in-law and part owner of the shop, Jose Burt Canete, was arrested by the anti-carnapping unit of the Quezon City Police Department.
At least 13 vehicles including a stolen Starex van were confiscated by the policemen inside Canete's residential compound in Barangay (village) Tisa, Cebu City last week.
Inspector Angelo Nicolas, chief of the Anti-Carnapping Unit (Ancar), named Dela Torre in an Inquirer report as the alleged leader of a car theft syndicate.
Despite the allegations, no charges were filed against Dela Torre, who denied the allegations.
Manubay, however, said that his unit was investigating the alleged syndicate involving Dela Torre. /Correspondent Chito O. Aragon
