Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, December 19) – Prosecutors from the Department of Justice (DOJ) have found probable cause to file kidnapping and robbery charges against three policemen related to the e-sabong master agent who was reported abducted last year.
Five Laguna cops were earlier linked to the abduction of Ricardo Lasco on Aug. 30, 2021. Lasco was an e-sabong master agent. He has not been found since his abduction.
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“During the preliminary investigation, the investigating panel finds probable cause against respondents [Staff Sergeant Daryl] Paghangaan, [Patrolman Roy] Navarete, and [Patrolman Rigel] Brosas for robbery and kidnapping of Lasco,” the DOJ said Monday.
These were the three cops identified by witnesses and complainants, namely: Lasco’s wife, his sister-in-law, his mother-in-law, and his wife’s cousin.
On Aug. 30, 2021, a group of armed men entered the Lasco residence and introduced themselves as National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) operatives.
They arrested Lasco “in relation to the crime of large-scale estafa filed against him,” the DOJ report narrated.
The suspects also nabbed valuables owned by the victims while they held Lasco’s four family members in the living room, the DOJ said.
Meanwhile, the complaints filed against Lieutenant Henry Sasaluya, Master Sergeant Michael Claveria, and several unidentified men or John Does were dismissed “for lack of probable cause.”
The DOJ said the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group Special Investigation Task Force Sabungero (CIDG-SIT Sabungero) had tagged Sasaluya, Claveria, and the John Does for their involvement in the abduction of Lasco.
