By: Aaron B. Recuenco
Six barangay security officers, also called barangay tanods, were nabbed for allegedly posing as policemen and arresting and extorting money from a delivery truck driver and a helper yesterday in Taguig City.
Senior Supt. Chiquito Malayo, director of the Philippine National Police-Counter-Intelligence Task Force, identified the suspects as Regie Adrales, Rolly Barcelo, Bobby Tejero, Antonio Bontia, Antonio Bag-ao, and Stephanie Villanueva, barangay security officers of West Bicutan.
The suspects were arrested in an entrapment conducted by the PNP-CITF at around 7:30 a.m.
“The operation also resulted in the rescue of the truck helper identified as Julius Lee Sabiano,” said Malayo.
Malayo said a walk-in complainant sought police assistance about a group of alleged policemen who arrested her partner, the truck driver from San Rafael, Bulacan, for an alleged drug case.
The complainant told police the suspects identified themselves as members of the Taguig police and were demanding P10,000 for the release of her partner.
“The truck driver and the helper were allegedly arrested for an alleged drug case,” said Malayo.
An entrapment operation was then mapped out.
The suspects asked the money to be delivered near the Sto. Niño Hospital in Taguig and were arrested while receiving the payoff.
It was later found out that the suspects had taken P30,000 from the truck driver and were asking P10,000 more for the release of the truck helper.
Seized from the suspects were a .38 caliber revolver, a .45 pistol, a 9mm pistol, and the marked money used in the operation.
Appropriate criminal charges are now being readied against the suspects who were taken to the CITF headquarters in Camp Crame in Quezon City.
