Caloocan precinct chief held for extortion

MANILA, Philippines — The commander of the Caloocan City police community precinct 10 was apprehended yesterday for alleged extortion.

Maj. Celso Sevilla was arrested by members of the police anti-scalawag unit along with his civilian cohort Nestor Rivera.

Brig. Gen. Ronald Lee, who heads the Integrity Monitoring and Enforcement Group, said Sevilla was nabbed during an entrapment operation after he allegedly accepted marked bills inside the police station.

Another suspect, Cpl. Albert Cruz, remains at large.

Lee said Sevilla’s arrest stemmed from the complaint of a gasoline vendor who accused the policeman of demanding P300 from each vendors weekly in exchange for unrestricted operation of their businesses.

Aside from administrative complaint, police said charges of robbery and extortion would be filed against Sevilla.