ZAMBOANGA CITY -- A Philippine Coast Guard personnel was arrested for allegedly extorting money from an applicant on Thursday, May 30.
Police identified the suspect as Coast Guard Petty Officer 3 Ibrahim Harad Banota, 33, a resident of Barangay San Jose Gusu and assigned to Tawi-Tawi.
Banota was arrested during an entrapment conducted by the Philippine National Police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group and the Zamboanga City Police Office.
The suspect was reportedly caught in the act of receiving money from a Coast Guard applicant during a transaction inside one of the fast food outlets on Zaragosa St. in exchange for sure enlistment to the Coast Guard.
The suspect faces a case of grave coercion, estafa, and violation of the Anti-Red Tape Act of 2007 (RA 9485).
Recovered from the suspect were an envelope with the boodle money and the identification card of Banota.
The suspect was brought to the CIDG-ZCFU for documentation in preparation for the filing of appropriate charges.