- Toril gadget store burglary suspects arrested in Iligan, Marawi
A CROSS-REGIONAL hot pursuit has led to the arrest of three suspects linked to a ₱2.8 million heist at a gadget store in Toril, Davao City, last June 24.
The suspects were intercepted in Northern Mindanao and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) following an intensive tracking effort, the Toril police confirmed on Friday, July 3.
According to Toril Police Station commander PMAJ Sheryl Y. Bautista, the breakthrough occurred at around 10 p.m. on Wednesday, July 1, 2026.
The Toril police coordinated with units from the Iligan City Mobile Force Company, Iligan City Police Station 2, and the Iligan City Intelligence Unit. The joint team flagged down and apprehended two primary suspects at the Triton border checkpoint in Barangay Suarez, Iligan City.
The individuals were identified by their aliases Noranisah, 37, and Khalil, 33, both transient residents of Marawi City.
At 3:50 p.m. on July 2, a follow-up sting was launched, alongside the Marawi City Police Station and the Lanao del Sur Provincial Intelligence Unit, which led to the arrest of a third suspect, alias Khalid, 27, in Barangay Panggao Saduc, Marawi City.
Khalid faces a charge for violating the Anti-Fencing Law after being caught in possession of the stolen items.
Timeline of the heist
The burglary transpired at RAD Gadgets around 3:30 a.m. on June 24, 2026, with police pointing to eight suspects—two females and six males—behind the crime.
An initial inventory confirmed that 100 iPhones (84 pre-owned and 16 brand new) worth an estimated ₱2.8 million were stolen.
“We conducted our Scene of the Crime Operations (SOCO) procedure and successfully lifted latent fingerprints,” Bautista said during a media briefing Friday morning. “The results are expected by Monday next week. We will compare these prints with the crime scene data and cross-reference them with regional databases to check if these suspects are linked to other unresolved heists across the country.”
CCTV backtracking
CCTV footage revealed that the group’s operations began the night before the heist.
“As early as 7 p.m. on June 23, the two female accomplices entered the store pretending to canvass and inquire about cellphones,” Bautista narrated. “During our backtrack, we noticed a female loitering on Agton Street speaking Tagalog. We coordinated with the store owner, who confirmed she was the same woman who had inquired earlier. Her clothing during the casing matched exactly what she wore during the dawn robbery.”
By 2:30 a.m. on June 24, a getaway van was spotted loitering across the street from RAD Gadgets.
“At 3:17 a.m., the male suspects positioned themselves. Three of them entered the establishment at 3:26 a.m. and executed the entire robbery in just 10 minutes,” Bautista added. “They did not cover their faces. They attempted to cut wires to disable the CCTV, but mistakenly cut different lines, leaving the cameras fully operational.”
Breakdown of the eight suspects
According to the investigation, Noranisah cased the shop at 7 p.m. on June 23, while Khalil served as the getaway driver. Khalid was reportedly responsible for disposing of the property.
Meanwhile, another female accomplice was present in casing the shop while two served as lookouts along Agton Street. Alias Sayno, 17, was positively identified by bystanders. Finally, alias Jumong, 23, identified as the group leader, and his brother alias Macmac, 21, carried the stolen items.
Suspects deny involvement
Speaking to the media, one of the male suspects arrested in Iligan vehemently denied involvement in the burglary.
“That is not true. We are from here [Mindanao],” the suspect said in the vernacular. “Nobody ordered us to do this, and nothing [stolen] was recovered from our possession. We have a good livelihood. Our only connection is that our van was borrowed by our friends[other suspects].”
“We were not in Toril when the robbery happened. My wife entered the store at 6 p.m. the previous night, but she did not steal anything. The robbery happened at 3 a.m. We are cooperating with the police to help them find the four men seen on CCTV who actually broke in. They are just acquaintances,” the suspect added, noting they are ready to face the charges to clear their names.
Ongoing tracking and recovery efforts
Bautista added the suspects had also struck an establishment in Tagum City immediately after the Toril heist, before fleeing towards Marawi.
“We managed to recover several iPhones during our surveillance and inventory of the third suspect’s shop in Marawi,” Bautista said. “However, many units are still missing, likely already sold. We are waiting for the Tagum City store owner to validate if some of the recovered units belong to them.”
When asked why the suspects did not cover their faces, Bautista noted that the group has grown bold because they have successfully pulled off similar gadget store robberies across the country.
As for the remaining five adult suspects and the 17-year-old minor, some police suspects have already fled back to Metro Manila while others remain hiding in Mindanao.
“We are conducting operational research on their existing warrants of arrest and have alerted all territorial units to intercept them,” Bautista said.
Filing of charges
Inquest proceedings against the three detained suspects were filed on Friday, July 3, 2026, at the Hall of Justice for robbery and violation of the Anti-Fencing Law for the suspect caught with the stolen inventory.
The owner of RAD Gadgets thanked the police authorities for their efforts.
“I am usually the one who monitors our CCTV feeds, but I was out of town and missed the phone alarm when it went off,” alias Pi said. “Moving forward, we will follow all security recommendations from the police. We are going to tighten our security, invest in security guards, and secure comprehensive insurance.”
Bautista said the successful coordination among law enforcement agencies “across different areas is a testament to our unity of purpose in preserving peace, maintaining public order, and ensuring the safety of every community.”
“We will relentlessly pursue law violators and ensure that offenders are brought to justice,” the station commander further said.
