6th most wanted in NorMin dies in police op

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – Northern Mindanao’s sixth most wanted person died following a law enforcement operation in Bukidnon Monday, police said.

A report from the Police Regional Office-10 (PRO-10) said Dencio Lundahan, the reported leader of the notorious Lundahan criminal group operating in the northern part of Bukidnon, was killed by police officers in an operation in Baungon town.

Aside from leading a criminal group, PRO-10 said Lundahan was believed to have ties with the New People’s Army (NPA) whose members are engaged in extortion, robbery, gun-for-hire, and other illegal activities.

Brig. Gen. Rafael Santiago Jr., PNP-10 director, said Lundahan has several arrest warrants for serious crimes such as multiple murder.

“He (Lundahan) has been the subject of police manhunt operation because of his high profile criminal background. Lately, he has been monitored to be engaged in extortion victimizing plantation operators in Bukidnon,” Santiago said.

Santiago said Lundahan was included in a PNP-10 report, which  contained the list of most wanted personalities involved in criminal acts who are subjects of immediate police operation.

“A bounty for his arrest has doubled in recent years for the more than a dozen crimes he has committed ranging from multiple murder to robbery,” he said, although the police did not mention how much the bounty was.

Meanwhile, Santiago said he will not tolerate police officers who are engaged in illegal activities in the light of the arrest of Patrolwoman Sheryl Lou Licayan over alleged extortion from police and non-uniformed personnel applicants.

A police report said Licayan was caught in the act of receiving marked money from one of her victims during an entrapment operation inside a fast food restaurant in this city on June 11.

“We will not lower our guard against rogue cops. We will continue our campaign until we have cleansed our rank of unfit and undesirable police officers,” the regional director said. (PNA)