Cotabato City Gunmen Arrested After P3.2 Million Gold Jewelry Heist

Three armed men who ransacked a Cotabato City home at gunpoint, making off with an estimated ₱3.2 million in gold jewelry and cash, were arrested hours later when police intercepted their dark brown Toyota Vios on a highway in neighboring Maguindanao del Norte.

The robbery unfolded on the afternoon of March 26 at the Tanghal Subdivision home of Hadja Naima Tayuan in Barangay Bagua 2. According to Brig. Gen. Jaysen De Guzman, director of the Police Regional Office–Bangsamoro Autonomous Region, the suspects forced their way inside armed with pistols, located gold jewelry and cash hidden in one of the rooms, and fled in the Vios, license plate LAR 2650, which had been parked outside. Neighbors reported that before leaving, the three men struck Hadja Naima Tayuan and her two relatives, Hadjar Tayuan and Ben Saudi Tayuan, across the head with pieces of wood and pistol grips. Emergency responders transported all three injured family members to a medical dispensary for treatment.

The swift arrest hinged on those same neighbors. Immediately after the attack, they contacted Mayor Bruce Matabalao and Col. Jibin Bongcayao, director of the Cotabato City Police Office, and provided an exact description of the getaway vehicle. That information allowed police units across nearby towns to seal off escape routes before the suspects could clear the region.

Pursuing officers from various units of PRO-BAR and the Datu Odin Sinsuat Municipal Police Station caught up with the vehicle along a stretch of highway in Barangay Poblacion Dalican, Datu Odin Sinsuat, about 39 kilometers south of Cotabato City. All three suspects, Johari Datumanong Mohammad, 27; Solaiman Guiamalon Abdullah, 33; and Khalid Kusain Tunggal, 26, were still together inside the car when officers moved in.

De Guzman confirmed that the three men are now in police custody and awaiting prosecution in court. Formal charges had not yet been specified in initial reports.