• THERESA MAE DULMAN
A woman from Tondo, Manila, was arrested after allegedly stealing over P500,000 worth of jewelry from a dried fish stall at a public market in Cadiz City, Negros Occidental, on Thursday morning.
The suspect, identified as 46-year-old alias Jannet, was apprehended by the stall owners, while her male accomplice managed to escape with the stolen items.
Cadiz City Police Station reported that the suspects employed a distraction tactic to carry out the theft.
The suspect reportedly approached the stall of the victim to buy dried fish and paid the P50 bill using individual one-peso coins.
By handing the coins over one by one, she successfully stalled the transaction, allowing her unidentified companion to scout and snatch a bag containing the jewelry and P3,000 cash.
The victims, who had been keeping the jewelry in their place of business for safety, following a previous burglary at their home, noticed the suspicious activity and managed to catch the female suspect before she could flee.
However, the male suspect successfully vanished into the crowd with the loot.
Police are currently conducting follow-up operations to identify the remaining suspect and recover the stolen jewelry.*
