Manila, April 9 -- The Philippine National Police (PNP) ordered a thorough investigation to determine possible links between illegal fuel operations in Laguna and Navotas City after a new oil pilferage or "paihi" bust inside a resort compound led to the arrest of six suspects.

PNP chief Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. said the Laguna case may provide crucial leads on whether small-scale oil pilferage activities are tied to a wider network.

"While we treat every case with specific focus, we are not setting aside the possibility that this is part of a larger syndicate. So far, there are initial findings that the incident is localized but our intelligence monitoring continues to determine if there is a wider network behind these operations...