Lacson: ‘Ninja cops’ merely suspended, not dismissed

MANILA, Philippines — Some of the police officers or so-called “ninja cops” allegedly involved in the “agaw bato” scheme of recycling seized narcotics and releasing drug suspects for ransom were only suspended instead of being dismissed from the service, according to Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson.

Lacson on Monday said he was able to gather documents that point to the identities of police officials who were linked to or benefited from the P50-million ransom paid for a suspected Chinese drug lord’s freedom and from the scheme to recycle 100 kilos of “shabu” (crystal meth).

He said some of them were likely still in the police force.

“Some are still active because what happened before was that from an initial punishment of dismissal from the service, this was commuted to suspension. I suppose if suspension was their administrative penalty, this means they returned to the service,” he told reporters.

Six months suspension

He noted a suspension only lasts six months.

He said he was checking if the criminal complaints were also filed against the police officers.

As for naming these police officers, Lacson said the senators would have to decide if the revelations of former Criminal Investigation and Detection Group chief Benjamin Magalong at an executive session in the Senate could be made public.

Magalong testified last week about the scheme of rogue police officers to seize part of their drug haul and keep it for themselves, to sell later on.

He called this the agaw bato scheme, using the street name of methamphetamine hydrochloride.

He also bared the practice of these corrupt cops to release an arrested drug suspect in exchange for money.

They would then arrest another person to serve as fall guy.

Prior to Magalong’s testimony, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) chief Aaron Aquino also said the recycling of seized drugs was “rampant.”

Disclosure criticized

On Monday’s press briefing in Camp Crame, Interior Secretary Eduardo Año criticized the PDEA’s disclosure of the Philippine National Police’s involvement in the illegal drug trade in a Senate hearing, saying it was “too generic.”

“So the perception was it was a normal or usual practice when the PNP has been cleansing its ranks of scalawags and misfits,” he said.

“We would have preferred in that case that names were given so it would be specific and the PNP will do the appropriate action,” Año said.

“It’s not fair to our hardworking and honest policemen to be lumped together [with scalawags], that the PNP is into recycling of drugs,” he said.

The PNP chief Police Gen. Oscar Albayalde said he bore no resentment for the PDEA but assured the public that the police had been “silently” monitoring and building up cases against 22 so-called ninja cops—including three police commissioned officers and 19 police noncommissioned officers—even before the PDEA’s revelation.

He said the highest ranking of the commissioned officers was a police major.

Albayalde said that of the 87 so-called ninja cops in President Duterte’s narcolist, 77 had been accounted for.