PAGADIAN CITY – Police arrested a local cop and his civilian cohort for selling smuggled cigarettes to an undercover agent in the southern Philippine province of Zamboanga del Sur, officials said Wednesday.
Brig. Gen. Neil Alinsangan, the regional police chief, said the 36-year old Cpl. Abdul Michael Ladja and Edward Charles Brown, 28, were nabbed by members of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit and the municipal police in the village of Culo in Molave town.
Ladja is assigned with the Zamboanga City Police Station 1, according to Alisangan.
“They were caught in the act of selling smuggled cigarettes to a police officer who acted as poseur buyer,” he said, adding that policemen seized 16 boxes of Astro cigarettes worth about P560,000 and a pistol and ammunition from the duo, including two vehicles.
“The confiscated smuggled cigarettes have an estimated total market value amounting to P560,000 and the arrested persons and confiscated items were brought to CIDG Zamboanga del Sur for proper disposition,” Alinsangan said.
He also commended the policemen involved in the covert operation. “I give my snappiest salute to the operatives of Zamboanga del Sur Provincial Police Office and the CIDU. This accomplishment proves that Police Regional Office 9 does not tolerate erring Philippine National Police personnel through its aggressive and honest law enforcement operations and integrity enhancement efforts which are in line with the 5-Focused Agenda of the Chief, PNP (Gen. Benjamin Acorda). We will continue our effort to cleanse the PNP organization from personnel involved in any forms of illegalities,” Alinsangan said.
Both Ladja and Brown were being investigated by the police to determine how and where they got the contraband. Smuggling activities are rampant in Zamboanga Peninsula due to its proximity to Malaysia and Indonesia. (Mindanao Examiner)
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