3 QC cops nabbed for extortion sex worker used to lure victim

MANILA, Philippines - Three Quezon City policemen and their companion were arrested shortly before midnight Thursday when they reportedly robbed a man and tried to extort P10,000 from him after baiting him with a male sex worker.

Police Officers 1 Ryan Parungao, Dennis Maagda, and Ronnel Biag – all of Quezon City Police District (QCPD) Station 9 – were arrested in an entrapment operation at the parking area of a fastfood restaurant in Barangay San Vicente at around 11 p.m. Thursday, QCPD director Senior Superintendent Richard Albano said.

Albano said the entrapment was arranged after policemen of QCPD Station 2 arrested their companion, Dominic Laudio, 28, who had been posing as a PO1 Panal. QCPD deputy director for administration Senior Superintendent Joel Pagdilao said QCPD Station 9 has a police officer whose name is PO3 Orlando Panal.

Live bait

The arrest of the four suspects stemmed from the complaint of a 29-year-old man from Cavite.

The victim said he met the sex worker at a mall on Wednesday and they went for a walk at the Quezon Memorial Circle, where they were accosted by Biag, Parungao, Maagda and Laudio at around 9 p.m.

Laudio is reportedly the contact person of the sex workers, who are used to lure possible victims, according to Inspector Alan dela Cruz, chief of the theft and robbery section of the QCPD’s Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit (CIDU).

“They identified themselves as police officers and forced me to board their patrol car and while inside, PO1 Parungao said I was being arrested for drug violation and alarm and scandal.  He also demanded P25,000 for my liberty,” the complainant said.

Albano has ordered QCPD-CIDU head Chief Inspector Rodelio Marcelo to investigate the victim’s complaint.

The victim said Parungao told him to withdraw money. When he could not produce any, he was allegedly told by Parungao to borrow P10,000 from his friends.

The man, accompanied by Laudio, went to a friend’s flat along Timog Avenue but was not able to contact his friend.

At 4 a.m. Thursday, the victim asked to be allowed to go to Cavite so he could produce the P10,000 the police officers were demanding of him. The police officers agreed, but not without having the victim leave his wristwatch, two cell phones, two ATM cards, company identification card and P800.

The victim later told Laudio through a text message that he was able to raise the money. Laudio, in turn, told him to bring the money at a fastfood store along Quezon Avenue.

The victim instead went to the QCPD Station 2 and reported the matter to station commander Superintendent Pedro Sanchez, who had Laudio arrested and recovered the victim’s belongings. Sanchez turned over the suspect to the QCPD-CIDU for proper investigation.

Marcelo then laid out an entrapment and on Thursday night, they collared the three policemen, who were in their patrol car. Recovered from them were P5,000 marked money and two cell phones.

“This kind of activity under my watch will not go unpunished and while I am the man at the helm of QCPD, I will see to it that the full force of the law will apply to protect the many good ones in the police service,” Albano said.