THE leader of a syndicate engaged in extortion and gun-for-hire activities and one of his men were killed in a shootout with police intelligence operatives in Parañaque City last Wednesday night.
PNP chief Gen. Benjamin Acorda Jr. said the gang leader, Gilbert Concepcion of the Concepcion Criminal Gang, is a former Army soldier.
Acorda said Concepcion joined the Philippine Army in 2001 after serving as an “action agent.”
Acorda said Concepcion went Absent Without Official Leave in 2008, two years after an arrest warrant for murder was issued against him. Concepcion was later dismissed from the service.
Police said the other suspect who died in the shootout was a relative of Concepcion and also a member of the syndicate.
Acorda said Concepcion, wanted for kidnapping, murder, rape and direct assault, was on the Department of Interior and Local Government’s list of most wanted persons with a P420,000 bounty on his head.
Intelligence operatives from the Bicol and National Capital Region police offices and personnel from other police units tried to serve arrest warrants against Concepcion at around 6 p.m. in Barangay San Martin De Porres in Parañaque City.
But Concepcion and his companion shot it out with the lawmen, leading to their deaths.
Seized at the scene were two 9 mm pistols, magazines, ammunition, and identification cards, among others.
“This successful police operation emphasizes the aggressive outlook of the anti-criminality campaign that the PNP will wage with greater vigor in 2024,” said Acorda.
Acorda said the killing of the two suspects “will be of great help in keeping peace and tranquility” in Bicol, adding they were behind several crimes in the region.
The Bicol regional police office said Concepcion was the region’s most wanted person. With Concepcion’s death, it said “his reign of terror has concluded.”
Bicol police director Brig. Gen. Andre Dizon said: “We remain steadfast in the campaign against lawlessness and criminality. We assure you that we will not rest until our region is free from the grip of those who threaten our peace and security.”
Dizon recognized the support given by the members of the community that led to the successful operation against Concepcion.
