ZAMBOANGA CITY – A policeman and his alleged accomplice were arrested in an anti-smuggling entrapment operation in Zamboanga del Sur, a top police official said Wednesday.
Brig. Gen. Neil Alinsañgan, Police Regional Office (PRO) 9 (Zamboanga Peninsula) director, said Corporal Abdul Michael Ladja and his associate, Edward Charles Brown, were collared in an entrapment in Barangay Culo, Molave, Zamboanga del Sur on Tuesday.
Ladja, 36, is assigned to the Police Station 1 of the Zamboanga City Police Office while Brown, 28, is a resident of Barangay Baliwasan, this city.
“They were caught in the act selling smuggled cigarettes to a police officer who acted as poseur-buyer,” Alinsañgan said in a statement.
Seized from the two were 16 master cases of smuggled cigarettes worth PHP560,000, a .9-mm Glock pistol with ammunition, a sports utility vehicle, and the boodle money used in the entrapment.
The arrested suspects and the pieces of evidence were brought to the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group - Zamboanga del Sur field office for proper disposition.
“This accomplishment proves that PRO-9 does not tolerate erring police personnel,” Alinsañgan said. (PNA)
