Cops under probe after drug bust

Two cops are now the subject of an investigation by the The Inspectorate and Professional Standards Bureau (IPROB), after they were reportedly found in a shed where a parcel of illicit drug was found.

Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) McArthur Sutherland, head of IPROB, has confirmed that an investigation has been launched into the conduct of "It is a fluid investigation to determine the circumstance under which that particular parcel was found in the shed".

More than $27 million worth of illegal drug was seized during the operation at Windy Way, Blue Mahoe in the parish.

According to the Corporate Communications Unit of the JCF, lawmen were conducting operations in the area, when a shed was searched. The cops said that ganja weighing 1,229 kilogrammes, and valued at J$12. 3 million, as well 31.4 kilogrammes of cocaine were found inside. The cocaine is said to have a street value of US$94,200 (approximately J$14.7 million).

Two men were taken into custody.

However, the CCU did not report the fact that two constables were also reported during the operation after they were allegedly found in a room with a parcel of the illegal drug.

Reports received by this newspaper indicate that twenty seven parcels of drugs were photographed during the operation but only twenty six were seen at the location. A search of the shed revealed the presence of two cops. The missing parcel was seen on a bed in the same shed. The cops were disarmed and their phones taken.

Sutherland said, "There is sufficient reasonable cause to launch an investigation". He said the investigation will determine if the cops are placed on interdiction.

"We have to examine what is before us and, in all fairness, make an appropriate recommendation," he said.

"It is not automatic that a police officer will go on suspension or interdiction. It is clearly dependent on the nature and gravity of the matter under probe. The sufficiency of evidence in support of whatever the allegation is, or the substance and reliability of that evidence in support of the allegation that was made. So it is not an automatic decision that any police officer will be sent on suspension or interdiction when there is an allegation hence you will have multiple officers going off on suspension or interdiction on merely an allegation," Sutherland said.