9 QC cops nabbed for alleged extortion

A SWAT team accompanied by personnel from the District Operations Unit and District for Investigation and Detective Management raided the Philippine National Police Station 11 in Galas, Quezon City a few minutes after midnight Friday.

QCPD Station 11 sinugod ng SWAT, mga tauhan ng PNP DSOU at DID dahil sa reklamong extortion sa siyam pulis. Ayon sa ilang preso, mahigit P200,000 ang hinihingi sa kanila. @gmanews @UnangHirit pic.twitter.com/TFPulvircw

— Victoria Tulad (@victoriatulad) May 3, 2018

The raid was conducted after authorities received complaints that police officers allegedly extort money from detainees.

Four people were arrested before dawn on Thursday after a buy-bust operation and were identified as Celso Luna III, Flexis Soriano, Erwin Madrid and Edwin Ferrer. 

They were brought to QCPD Station 11.

Soriano said police asked him for P200,000 in exchange for the dropping of charges.

He said the other three were asked for P100,000.

However, Luna said police asked him for P200,000 so charges against him will be dropped.

Luna added that one of the police officers hit him when he denied that he was involved in illegal drugs and asked for a lawyer.

According to the head of Police Station 11, there will be an investigation on the allegation of extortion against nine policemen of the station's Drug Enforcement Unit.

If it is proven that they committed the crime, they will face administrative and criminal charges.

NCRPO chief: Station chief sacked

National Capital Region Police Office chief Police Director Camilo Cascolan on Friday said the chief of QCPD Station 11 has been sacked.

"Well, iimbestigahan natin but because of command responsibility, he will be relieved," Cascolan said in an interview on Unang Balita.

He added that the nine policemen have been restricted. 

"Well restricted na po sila at nandu'n na po sila sa QCPD District. Iniimbestigahan na rin po sila," Cascolan said.

The NCRPO chief added that had the nine policemen been caught red-handed accepting money from extortion, they would have been jailed.

"Alam mo kung natiyempuhan lang talaga caught red-handed na nag-abutan 'yan, kulong sila ngayon. Ipapakulong po 'yan dahil bawal po unang-una nga po, tulad ng sabi ng ating chief PNP Police Director General (Oscar) Albayalde, internal cleansing ang inuuna natin. Dapat tinitignan natin ang disiplina ng kada pulis," he said.

"So ang nangyari po ngayon iimbestigahan po natin at kung talagang involved sila sa extortion ipapa-dismiss natin sila," Cascolan said.

The NCRPO chief said they will also look into the procedure of the arrest if there was any irregularity observed. —BAP/KG, GMA News