13 Pampanga cops face raps over bogus drugs ops

MANILA, Philippines - Police have filed criminal cases against the 13 Pampanga police officers for extorting money from suspected drug lords and for failing to account  for the illegal drugs seized from the suspects.

Criminal Investigation and Detection Group chief, Director Benjamin Magalong said the criminal raps were filed before the Pampanga court against Superintendent Rodney  Raymundo, Louie Juico Baloyo IV, Senior Inspector Joven de Guzman Jr., Senior Police Officers 1 Jules Maniago, Donald Roque, Ronald Santos,Rommel Vital, Alcindor Tinio, Eligio Valeroso, Police Officers 3 Dindo Dizon, Gilbert De Vera, Romeo Guerrero Jr., Dante Dizon, and Police Officer 2 Anthony Lacsamana.

The operatives are members of the Provincial Anti-Illegal Drugs Special Operation Task Force Pampanga Provincial Police Office.

Magalong said that the cases stemmed from the group's illegal drugs operation in the area of Mexico, Pampanga sometime in November 2013.

He said that the operation resulted in the arrest of a Chinese Johnson Lee and the seizure of an estimated 200 kilos of methamphetamine hydrochloride, or shabu, about P55 million cash, and a Toyota Fortuner.

The CIDG head said that the anti-narcotics agents failed to report and account for the real quantity of shabu and the amount of money that they seized during the operation.

Magalong added that Baloyo's group replaced Lee and instead filed a case against another suspected Chinese drug lord  Ding Wenkun.

The group planted evidence on Wenkun and slapped him with illegal drug raps.