Detained Cotabato motorcycle thief faces raps

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May 15, 2026 | 6:28pm

COTABATO CITY — The 33-year-old man arrested after taking a motorcycle from Moro rider in a daring heist on a busy road in Barangay Rosary Heights 4 in Cotabato City on Tuesday night, May 12, is now awaiting prosecution in court.

Relatives of Mohammad Sayong Akmad, now in policy custody and barangay officials told reporters on Friday, May 15, that he has stolen at least ten motorcycles in successive heists across Cotabato City and nearby towns in Maguindanao del Norte since 2025.

Akmad, armed with a .45 caliber pistol, first robbed a Moro rider of his white Honda Click on Tuesday night along the De Mazenod Avenue in Barangay Rosary Heights 4.

He took the motorcycle key at gunpoint and attempted to escape but was quickly cornered and arrested by pursuing policemen from Cotabato City Police Station 1, led by Major Teofisto Ferrer Jr., at Doña Blanca Street in Mother Barangay Poblacion, downtown Cotabato City.

Captain Steffie Salanguit, spokesperson for the Police Regional Office-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region and Col. Jibin Bongcayao, Cotabato City’s police director, separately said on Friday that besides the stolen motorcycle, Ferrer and his subordinates confiscated a .45 caliber STI Edge pistol and ammunition from Akmad.

Barangay officials added that Akmad occassionally sold shabu and marijuana in interior areas of Cotabato City.

Relatives and friends told local executives and police that he also sold the motorcycles he stole from barangays to contacts in Maguindanao del Sur, Maguindanao del Norte and Cotabato provinces.

Bongcayao said they have filed separate theft and illegal firearm possession cases against Akmad.