An 81-year-old man fell victim to an organized phone theft at a Mandaluyong drugstore in October, an incident caught on CCTV. On Tuesday, October 22, John shared his experience on Teleradyo Serbisyo to raise awareness about the 'salisi' gang operating in the area.

The incident, captured on CCTV, revealed that the theft was carefully planned and executed by a group of individuals, both men and women, who appeared to be scouting for potential victims while pretending to be customers.

John suspects he was targeted because of his age and the visibility of his iPhone 14, which he had placed in his pocket.

As he was exiting the store, one suspect deliberately bumped into him, allowing an accomplice to swiftly take his phone and leave unnoticed.

Distracted, John immediately confronted the man who bumped into him, but the suspect claimed that he didn’t have his phone. By then, the person who had stolen the phone had already slipped away, including the other suspects involved.

Afterwards, he used a tracking app to locate his phone. He initially traced it to a location near a bank along Shaw Boulevard. However, within an hour, the phone’s location had moved to Commonwealth, Quezon city, and later to a mall in Caloocan.

John, who was alone when the incident took place, reported the crime to the local baranggay. They advised him to go to a nearby police station next to Shangri-La Mall.

According to him, no guard was present at the time of the incident. The guard was reportedly in the bathroom when the theft occurred.

Later that evening; 10pm, John received a phone call from someone who claimed that they found his phone and told him to meet them at Commonwealth, Jollibee. However, he found this suspicious and suggested that they send the phone through a delivery service instead. After which, the caller suddenly stopped responding, hence, raising further suspicions.

Police were able to enhance the CCTV footage, clearly capturing the faces of some of the individuals involved, however, they are yet to be identified.

It is suspected that these groups target senior citizens or other people who seem vulnerable.

He further added that during the theft, he wasn’t too worried about being robbed— he was ‘confident’ that it’ll be safe since there aren’t many people around.

While the suspects remain at large, John advises the public to stay vigilant, especially as the holiday season approaches, and to avoid keeping valuables in easily accessible places.