TWO POLICE officers were nabbed for robbery-extortion in Malolos City, Bulacan, the anti-scalawag unit of the Philippine National Police (PNP) said on Tuesday.
Brig. Gen. Ronald Lee, PNP Integrity Monitoring and Enforcement Group chief, identified the suspects as Senior M/Sgt. Vic Godwin Lajom and Pat. Jay Mark Tuazon, both assigned with the Malolos City Police-Community Precinct 5 (PCP), and their civilian accomplices, Wendell Mendoza and Kenneth Villena.
In his report to PNP chief, Gen. Archie Gamboa, Lee said the four were arrested right inside the Malolos City PCP 5 around 12:30 p.m. Monday following an entrapment operation conducted by IMEG operatives, in cooperation with the PNP Intelligence Group and the Bulacan Police Provincial Office.
“We have received several complaints regarding the involvement of the two policemen in a massive protection racket in their area where they demand money from tricycle drivers and traffic violators in exchange for the nullification of their traffic citation tickets,” said Lee.
Lee added that the four were arrested shortly after they received a marked PHP500 bill from a complainant.
He said his team conducted a series of validation in the area and discovered that the suspects are really known for apprehending erring tricycle drivers and other civilians for traffic violations. They would ask for money from them in exchange for the downgrading or nullification of their traffic offenses.
“The two civilians were found to be acting as the middlemen of the accused policemen in collecting money from the violators,” Lee said.
The suspects were immediately brought at the PNP-IMEG headquarters in Camp Crame, Quezon City for booking and filing of criminal charges for robbery-extortion while the two cops will also be facing administrative charges for grave misconduct.
Gamboa earlier lauded the PNP-IMEG and the PNP Anti-Kidnapping Group (AKG) for their continuing effort to account for rogue policemen who continued their illegal activities despite being dismissed from the police force.
On Saturday, combined AKG and IMEG operatives gunned down a dismissed policeman and his still unidentified cohort during a gunfight in Binangonan, Rizal. The two were identified as among the kidnappers of three still missing victims.
Gamboa said dismissed Pat. Ralph Rafael Maray is a leader of a kidnap-for-ransom gang until he was killed in last Saturday’s firefight in Barangay Macamot in Binangonan. Maray has been a target of the IMEG for his illegal activities.
Lee called on the public to report any PNP personnel (uniformed and non-uniformed) involved in any irregularities to the PNP-IMEG hotlines: SMART -- 0998-970-2286 or GLOBE -- 0995-795-2569. Information may also be forwarded to Facebook Page: Integrity Monitoring and Enforcement Group. (By Christopher Lloyd Caliwan)
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