Ex-cop turned gang leader nabbed

CLARK FREEPORT, Pampanga, Philippines – A former police officer and alleged leader of a crime group was arrested in Bamban, Tarlac on Friday.           

Former police officer 1 Aris Amposta, 33, was collared in his hideout located near the Dapdap resettlement site in Barangay Lourdes.

The arrest was based on a warrant issued by the Angeles City court for robbery with violence and intimidation.

Amposta, who was dismissed from the service in 2015, was reportedly the leader of the Amposta robbery-drug group, according to Tarlac police chief Senior Superintendent Ritchie Medardo Posadas.

The suspect went into hiding after the court issued a warrant for his arrest in September  2015.  

“Aside from drugs, the Amposta group is involved in a series of robbery, extortion and carjacking cases in Angeles City and other parts of Pampanga and Tarlac,” Posadas said.

The warrant also included three alleged members of the group identified as Police Officer 1 Roberto Bautista, and brothers Jay-R and Elmer Nasam.

Police have yet to locate Bautista and Jay-R, while Elmer was killed by unidentified assailants in Angeles City early this year.