Thieves dig tunnel into Philippine mall, score nearly $1m in jewellery and cash
Philippine police are on the hunt for a trio of thieves who tunnelled into a mall and made off with P41 million ($976,400) worth of jewellery and cash, Philippine media reported.
The incident took place on Dec 31, 2023 in Gaisano Mall in Ozamiz City, some 783km from Manila, according to Rappler.
Police officials said the thieves started a tunnel in a carnival inside a private compound beside the mall and dug a hole into a drainage canal which led to a food court in the mall, as reported in ABS-CBN.
When the trio entered the mall, they forcibly opened a MetroBank automated teller machine (ATM) and stole P80,000 in cash.
Next, they grabbed about P$41 million in jewellery and cash from the vaults and glass showcases of GKC Jewellery and Oro Italia Fine Jewellery before fleeing the scene.
The robbery was discovered by a mall employee at 11am on Jan 1, ABS-CBN reported.
Police said that a forensics team from the Philippine National Police is processing the crime scene.
While the thieves have yet to be identified and arrested, the police have arrested a carnival worker, April John Permanhil, whom they suspect assisted the trio on New Year’s Eve.
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