SWERTRES
RAID. Cebu intelligence operatives arrested a city resident suspected to be
a big-time swertres financier identified as Florentino "Bagtac" Ingles
(extreme left) last Friday afternoon with seized swertres paraphernalia. PNP Foto | | Operatives
from the Cebu Intelligence Division, PRO-7 arrested a suspected big-time financier
of the illegal numbers game of swertres during a raid at his residence located
just two blocks away from Camp Dagohoy along Espuelas Street, this city past 1
o'clock Friday afternoon. |
This
is the second time that Cebu operatives found their way to arrest swertres financier
based in the city after reports reaching the offices of PNP Regional Director
Lane-O Nerez bared that big-time financiers operating here are enjoying a seemingly
"hands off" from the local police.
The
same group of operatives arrested last May 15, Mansasa Barangay captain Manolo
"Taran" Blanco, another big-time swertres financier, during a raid conducted
at his residence where P586,715 and assorted documents were seized.
Nabbed
in the latest raid was Florentino "Bagtac" Ingles, who was inside his
residence when the raiding team led by PCI Romeo Santander swooped down the targeted
house, armed with a search warrant issued by Cebu Regional Trial Court Branch
57 Judge Enriquita Belarmino.
Seized
during the raid were P7,650 cash, 150 pieces of stubs bearing number combination
and a notebook indicating the daily sales. Included in the seized items was a
Nokia cellular phone.
The
search was witnessed by Poblacion 3 barangay kagawads John Minoza and Jose Torralba.
| | | Santander
said that somebody tipped off the suspect of the impending raid as shown in the
text messages saved in Ingles' cellular phone.
"We
are now investigating how the raid was leaked to the suspect," Santander
told the Chronicle.
Because
of the leaked information, the raiding team failed to catch a bigger amount of
bet money unlike during the raid at barangay captain Blanco's residence last May
where more than half a million pesos were seized by operatives, according to the
team leader of the raiding group. | Intelligence
reports, according to Santander pointed to Ingles as one of the "successors"
of the barangay captain's operations in the city as well as in some municipalities.
Ingles
was brought to nearby Camp Dagohoy after his arrest supposedly to be presented
to PNP Prov'l Director Edgardo Ingking. However, the PNP chief was out from his
office when the Cebu operatives were at the PNP provincial headquarters.
Meanwhile,
Santander was surprised why the court order for the release of Ingles came barely
30 minutes after the raiding team arrived at Ingles' house.
RTC
Branch 49 Judge Fernando Fuentes III issued the court order for the release of
Ingles after paying a bail bond of P32,000.
| 
