Google map of Pikit, North Cotabato
PIKIT, North Cotabato – Police officers arrested a former soldier who tried to extort money from Pikit Mayor Sumulong Sultan during an entrapment here Thursday.
Maj. Maxim Peralta, town police office chief, the suspect, Ryan Calayan Maborrang, 33, of Barangay Gen. Luna, Carmen, North Cotabato, has been calling and sending short messages to the mayor and introduced himself as a certain Col. Joel Limson of the Police Regional Office (PRO) 12 (Soccsksargen).
The mayor then sought the help of Peralta to launch the entrapment.
Maborrang agreed to meet and collect the PHP50,000 he was demanding from Sultan at the back of the municipal town hall in Fort Pikit at 2 p.m.
Authorities nabbed the suspect after receiving the bag that contained the supposed extortion money composed of 50 pieces of boodle money.
Maborrang at first resisted arrest but later mellowed down.
“He was asking PHP50,000 in exchange for police operations against my political opponents,” Sultan said in a radio interview. He did not name the alleged targets of the operation.
Maborrang, who has long been discharged from military service, is detained at the Pikit police lock-up cell while extortion charges are being prepared against him. (PNA)
