PNP to beef up efforts vs. transnational crimes

– The Philippine National Police (PNP) on Wednesday said it will beef up efforts to help the international police community in its campaign against transnational crimes.

PNP chief Gen. Rodolfo Azurin Jr. made this assurance as head of the country’s delegation to the 17th Annual Conference of Heads of National Central Bureaus of the International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO-INTERPOL) in Lyon, France attended by some 300 delegates from 142 INTERPOLMEMBER countries.

Azurin said the Philippines is never far behind in addressing current criminal activity involving transnational syndicates.

He also stressed the major role of the PNP Women and Children Protection Center in a recent international law enforcement operation in the Philippines, United States, Norway, United Kingdom, Australia, and Germany.

He said this is a testament to the responsiveness of the country as an active member of a global alliance of police agencies that share common interests in combatting transnational crime involving the online sexual exploitation of children.

Azurin added that the PNP, through the Anticybercrime Group (ACG), was also instrumental in breaking the backbone of syndicated criminal activities engaged in online financial fraud from local and offshore boiler room operations.

“The aggressive stance of the PNP in support of national policy against drug trafficking and abuse has successfully severed the supply chain of illegal drugs with the busting of foreign-led drug syndicates operating in the Philippines,” Azurin added.

Aside from Azurin, other members of the Philippine delegation to the conference are Maj. Gen. Benjamin Acorda Jr., Director for Intelligence; Brig. Gen. Emmanuel Peralta, Director for Operations; Brig. Gen. Bernard Banac, Director for Plans; Maj. Gen. Eliseo Cruz, Director for Investigation and Detective Management and Maj. Gen. Valeriano de Leon, Director for Information and Communication Technology Management.