A NEW director of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) was installed on Monday, January 9, 2023, Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Rodolfo Azurin Jr. said.

Azurin said Brigadier General Romeo Caramat, deputy director of the Directorate for Intelligence, will be exchanging posts with CIDG Director Ronald Lee.

“Sabihin natin na regular movement siguro with some…konting mga minor problem naman siguro. So we still try to work despite siguro ‘yung mga konting mga problema na hinaharap natin in so far as the CIDG is concerned,” he said in a press conference in Camp Crame.

(Let’s say it’s regular movement maybe with some…a few minor problems maybe. So we still try to work despite the little problems we face in so far as the CIDG is concerned.)

Lee assumed as the CIDG top man in August 2022.

In a statement, the CIDG said the agency, under the leadership of ?Lee, conducted ?a total of 8,621 manhunt operations against wanted persons, 1,582 operations against loose firearms, and nine police operations against illegal recruiters and trafficker that resulted in the arrest of 15 people and the filing of four court cases.

It said there were also 183 operations in the campaign against violations of the Intellectual Property Rights Code, smuggling, manufacturing, distribution, and trading of counterfeit products and items that resulted in the arrest of 639 individuals and the filing of 210 cases in courts for other law enforcement activities.

?The CIDG also served justice for victims and families of missing cockfighting aficionados, as it indicted suspects in the robbery and kidnapping cases in San Pablo, Laguna. Additional complaints are now being considered by the court to indict other suspects due to the video footage provided by informants to the CIDG.

“Under his watch, CIDG’s relentless and dauntless commitment and efforts with the support of its partner law enforcement agencies and units was able to neutralize the notorious Warla Criminal Group, a group of transwomen known for gunrunning and for kidnapping of foreign nationals,” the CIDG said.

“With several accomplishments, PBGen Ronald Lee shows how the men and women of CIDG bear the weight of responsibility to do their duties to the best of their abilities. His immediate action and accomplishments against unlawful acts have proven his capability as one of the effective and efficient leaders of PNP today. He successfully encouraged many of us to do the same,” it added. (SunStar Philippines)