Azurin: PNP exec brought back ninja cop to PDEG

MANILA, Philippines — A ranking police official is under investigation after it was found out that he was the one who reassigned to the Philippine National Police Drug Enforcement Group (PDEG) a policeman who was later implicated in the storage of nearly a ton of methamphetamine hydrochloride shabu worth P6.7 billion seized in Manila last October.

PNP chief Gen. Rodolfo Azurin Jr. said the official was the one who brought back S/Sgt. Rodolfo Mayo Jr. to the PDEG, who was arrested in a sting that yielded 990 kilos of shabu on Oct. 8.

“Ito ay through the instruction ng isang high-ranking officer. Of course hindi muna natin papangalanan as of now,” Azurin told reporters in an interview on the sidelines of his visit to patients at the PNP General Hospital at Camp Crame in Quezon City.

Azurin declined to identify the police official believed to be Mayo’s backer as the investigation is still ongoing.

Sen. Ronald dela Rosa earlier revealed that Mayo was among the ninja cops, or police officers involved in the illegal drug trade, whom he reassigned to Mindanao in 2016 when he was PNP chief.

Dela Rosa expressed concern how Mayo was reassigned to the PNP’s anti-narcotics unit despite his background.