A police chief and his anti-drug unit head were sacked over the involvement of five of their personnel in an attempted extortion case last weekend.
Senior Supt. Guillermo Eleazar, QCPD chief, announced the relief of Masambong Police Station (PS-2) chief Supt. Dario Añasco Jr. and the Station Anti-illegal Drugs (SAID) unit commander Senior Inspector Virgilio Cardona for command responsibility after five of their men allegedly tried to extort money from a drug suspect.
The five cops – Senior Inspector Benjamin Mayor, SPO3 Archimedes Marzan, PO2 Alex Chocowen, and PO1 Jeron de Dios and PO1 Michael Gragasin – were found to have conspired in extorting P100,000 from Josephine Pineda, partner of tricycle driver Zaldy Roda, who was arrested Saturday for allegedly selling illegal drugs.
It was learned that Mayor, Marzan and De Dios arrested Roda, and they later turned over him to to Gragasin and Chocowen of the anti-illegal drug unit.
Gragasin was collared in an entrapment operation on the same day as he received from Pineda the extort money in exchange for Roda’s release.
The five policemen face charges of robbery extortion and grave misconduct.
Eleazar said Supt. Igmedio Bernaldez will replace Añasco. (Vanne Elaine Terrazola)