CIDG chief Torre faces illegal detention case

MANILA, Philippines — The head of the police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group and nine CIDG officers are facing criminal charges for allegedly detaining a businesswoman for six days based on a “photocopied” red notice from the International Police Organization (Interpol).

CIDG director Maj. Gen. Nicolas Torre III and his subordinates failed to attend the preliminary investigation set by the Makati prosecutor’s office on April 21 and 28.

In March, Rotchelle Calle, 48, filed complaints for unlawful arrest and arbitrary detention against Torre and his men.

The STAR asked Torre for comment but has yet to receive a reply.

Calle accused the CIDG of illegally detaining her from Nov. 21 to 27, 2024 after the Interpol issued a red notice against her on May 2, 2023.

She was charged with fraud by her former business partner, Abdulmalek Alshihhim, in the United Arab Emirates.

Based on Calle’s complaint, a copy of which was obtained by The STAR, four officers from the CIDG’s Detective and Special Operations Unit went to her house to serve an Interpol red notice on Nov. 19, 2024.

Calle said the CIDG personnel told her that she would not be taken to the Bureau of Immigration if she would give them a “Christmas gift.” She refused.

After two days, seven CIDG officers arrested Calle at the Makati city hall.

The businesswoman, claiming she endured dire conditions while being held at the CIDG headquarters, sought assistance from the Public Attorney’s Office (PAO).

In a letter dated Nov. 26, 2024, PAO’s Quezon City division urged Torre to release Calle since she had “yet to be shown a court order or arrest warrant from authorities both in the Philippines and in the UAE.”

On Nov. 27, 2024, Calle said police accompanied her to the Department of Justice to file a perjury case against Alshihhi, only to be told by the fiscal that her complaint was “incomplete.”

Before she was released, Calle said she was made to sign an affidavit stating that she surrendered to police.