Manila cops nab lawyer for extortion

Police operatives arrested the other night a woman, who claims to be a lawyer, in an entrapment operation over complaints of robbery extortion inside a coffee shop in Ermita, Manila.

Manila Police District (MPD)’s Task Force Manhunt commander Chief Inspector Alejandro Yanquiling Jr. identified the suspect as Loreta Sunico, 33, of Villamor Air Base, Pasay City.

The suspect’s modus operandi, according to Yanquiling, was to threaten his victims with arrest for non-existent warrants. She would then volunteer to facilitate settlement or the recall of the warrant for a specified amount, claiming she was working as a staff of a Supreme Court justice.

Most of the suspect’s victims were casino financiers whom she would threaten as subjects of arrest for anti-fencing law, Yanquiling said.

Complainant Ronaldo Quino, 30, a casino financier, sought police assistance after he was informed by the suspect that he had a warrant of arrest for an anti-fencing law violation furnished by the MPD and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI),

Sunico said that she could work for its recall for P100,000.

After verification made with concerned agencies showed that Quino had no pending warrants, Yanquiling laid out the entrapment operation with the media men as observers.

Inside the coffee shop, Quino handed an envelope to the suspect which contained marked money. After counting the money, the suspect stood up to leave, but police operatives posted nearby effected her arrest.

Yanquiling said the suspect, despite saying that she was a lawyer, failed to produce identification cards to support her claim.

"We will inquire with the Philippine Bar Association on Monday if indeed she is a licensed lawyer. If indeed she is one, then she can be disbarred from the bench for illegal transactions," he said.

The suspect was brought to the chemistry section of the NBI where she was tested positive for fluorescent smudges from the marked money.

Inquest prosecutor Nestle Go approved the charges of robbery extortion against the suspect with the bail recommended at P120,000. – Nestor Etolle