Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office (NOCPPO) director Colonel Rainerio de Chavez ordered a thorough investigation after a shopping mall in San Carlos City was ransacked by still unidentified individuals.

De Chavez said he ordered San Carlos City police chief Colonel Nazer Canja to do everything to identify and arrest the suspects behind the robbery.

The NOCPPO chief also appealed to residents to cooperate with them by reporting any information that would help in the investigation.

All police stations in Negros Occidental have been placed on heightened alert and ordered to strengthen all measures to prevent such incidents from happening.

Two unidentified individuals ransacked the mall in Barangay Palampas at around 11:00 p.m. on Monday, August 19.

An estimated P1.3 million worth of jewelry, gadgets and cash were carted away by the suspects.

San Carlos police chief, Colonel Nazer Canja, said the suspects entered the mall through a manhole on Monday night, based on footage from closed-circuit television.

The suspects passed through a drainage system beside the mall.

They dug up a tunnel and entered through a pharmacy inside the establishment, Canja said.

Around P200,000 in cash was carted away from the pharmacy, while P60,000 worth of gadgets, tools and pieces of jewelry were taken from adjacent stores.

Canja said the suspects passed in the same way at around 4:00 a.m.

He added that the suspects might be part of an organized group as the incident was well-planned.

An investigation is ongoing./WDJ