Tribune 242
NATIONAL Security Minister Wayne Munroe said he is not the “high-ranking politician” who was allegedly expected to authorise Bahamian law enforcement officials to facilitate a cocaine trafficking scheme to the United States for $2 million.
#“I have not received $2m,” he told The Tribune. “I have not been asked to accommodate any wrongdoing. I have not offered to accommodate any wrongdoing, and I state that categorically.”
#A federal indictment by the United States District Court Southern District of New York said Chief Superintendent Elvis Curtis, one of eleven Bahamians charged in the case, indicated that “in exchange for $2m USD, a high-ranking Bahamian politician, whom Curtis named, would authorise the assistance and involvement of Bahamian law enforcement officials –– including armed RBPF officers –– in facilitating and ensuring cocaine shipments…”
#The indictment does not clarify to whom CSP Curtis said this.
#Mr Munroe, who is currently attending a CARICOM Securities Ministers meeting in St Kitts, said whether the politician’s identity is disclosed will depend on whether the US communicates the matter confidentially or not.
#“The prime minister is dealing directly with that aspect of it and I would prefer to defer to him for that,” he said. “But I know that in some of these law enforcement matters, information is given to you on the basis that you do not disclose it.”
#The indictment has elevated scrutiny of the police force and has raised questions about whether Police Commissioner Clayton Fernander is fit to lead the organisation amid shaken public trust in the institution.
#Asked about Commissioner Fernander’s future, Mr Munroe said: “I think the simple answer to it is, as put by the prime minister, we’re going to be holding everyone accountable. This is a very serious matter. It is said, if you read the indictment, that it began in May of 2021 and that preceeded the time that this present administration came in before Mr Fernander took the chair.
#“All I would say is, you judge the head of an organisation by how they react to things like this, and so you may have bad apples in every organisation and you judge the leadership by how they react to it, and so he will be judged by how he reacts to it, just as no doubt the public will judge us by how we react to it.”
#Mr Munroe said the RBPF had shown a willingness to hold officers accountable.
#“What would be reprehensible is if police officers were doing things that were wrong and the police force was covering up for them,” he said. “What is being demonstrated is the police force isn’t covering up for persons.”
https://www.tribune242.com/news/2024/nov/28/munroe-denies-role-in-cocaine-scheme/
