The leader of a Cebu-based organized crime group was arrested earlier this week in a Bacolod City Police Office-City Drug Enforcement Unit (BCPO-CDEU) buy-bust operation in the city’s Barangay 12.

Police identified the suspect as 21-year-old Joric Epogon, leader of the Epogon organized crime group and resident of Barangay San Jose in Sipalay City, Negros Occidental.

Authorities also apprehended a minor during the operation.

In a radio interview yesterday morning, BCPO spokesperson, Police Chief Inspector Sherlock Gabana, said Epogon’s group is responsible for a number of robberies and killings throughout Cebu, particularly in the southern portion of the island.

Gabana said they managed to track down Epogon after the Cebu Police Provincial Office informed them he was heading to Bacolod City to sell illegal drugs during the ongoing MassKara Festival.

During the operation, police recovered a total P260,000 worth of shabu, drug paraphernalia, and a motorcycle.

A search further yielded several police uniforms, allegedly used by the group for their own criminal activities.

Epogon is presently detained at PS1 on drug-related charges, while the minor was handed over to the city’s social welfare office./DGB, WDJ