One of the suspects in the P3.6 million heist at the Central Negros Electric Cooperative in Bacolod City in March this year was killed by his colleagues somewhere in Mindanao, City Police Director Senior Supt. Ricardo de la Paz said yesterday.

The Bacolod City Police received information about the killing, but De la Paz refused to identify the fatality. He said the police are now investigating the case and trying to establish the motive for the killing.

“We cannot give full details yet because his family is under threat”, De la Paz said of the CENECO robbery suspect allegedly killed.

However, a police source told the DAILY STAR yesterday that the dead suspect was the original planner of the CENECO heist and was the father of a policeman assigned in Mindanao, who is also part of their gang.

The source added that the fatality was riding in a van with his common-law wife when they were ambushed by several armed men, whom his family believe were members of their group.

The source also said that the live-in partner of the fatality survived the ambush and is now in police custody and may be the key to unmask the other members of his gang.

Meanwhile , Regional Trial Court Judge Eliseo Geolingo had issued arrest warrants against four suspects in the CENECO heist last month yet, City Police Warrant and Subpoena Section head, Senior Insp. Charles Gever, said yesterday.

Ordered arrested were Reynaldo Bacolod, “alias Toto and Jay Mira”, Gerardo Saniel, “alias Gagang”, Roel Remedios, “alyas Yoyong” and Joseph Calaramo.

They were positively identified by witnesses as the same persons who staged the robbery at the electric firm, the police said.

Complaints against other suspects Roel Alferez, Richard Sending Daguman and eight other John Does were dismissed by the City Prosecutor’s Office in June for lack of probable cause.

At least 12 armed men raided CENECO in March this year, disarmed the firm’s security guard and took P3.6 million from its cash division and fled on board their vans.*APN

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