SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — The Bahamas’ police commissioner has resigned after a sergeant and two officers had been lately indicted within the U.S. in what federal authorities describe as a case of large drug trafficking.
The Bahamas’ prime minister, Philip Courageous Davis, introduced on Wednesday that Clayton Fernander was stepping down, noting that he faces no costs within the case however that the police division wants a change.
“We’re taking essential steps to revive belief and accountability,” Davis instructed Parliament, including that there’ll be extra management modifications in upcoming days.
The resignation comes after a police sergeant, a senior police officer and a Royal Bahamas Protection Drive officer, and a number of other different suspects had been indicted within the U.S. in late November.
The U.S. Justice Division known as the case a “large cocaine importation conspiracy enabled by corrupt Bahamian authorities officers, together with high-ranking members of the Royal Bahamas Police Drive.”
The division famous that since Could 2021, drug traffickers have smuggled tons of cocaine via the Bahamas certain for the U.S. with the assistance of corrupt native officers who managed airports and disclosed details about U.S. Coast Guard actions.
The bribes that officers had been promised or given ranged from $10,000 to $2 million to assist with the trafficking, together with the motion of 1,320 kilos (600 kilograms) of cocaine via the Bahamas’ important worldwide airport, in keeping with the indictment.
The Bahamas has not but appointed a brand new police commissioner.
On Monday, Fernander stated he was interviewing officers to find out when the alleged drug trafficking started and stated he supported a authorities proposal for unbiased civilian oversight of the police division.
He additionally introduced a number of measures, together with the creation of an encrypted and nameless whistleblower system to crack down on corruption.
“This tradition of corruption that has infiltrated the Royal Bahamas Police Drive didn’t occur in a single day,” he stated. “However from immediately, we are going to redouble our efforts to stamp it out.”
Throughout Wednesday’s assembly in Parliament, a scuffle erupted as a crowd outdoors protested that an opposition chief was not allowed to talk about the indictment.
One lawmaker grabbed a big ceremonial workers on the desk of the Home speaker and threw it out a window, in keeping with The Nassau Guardian. The newspaper stated Deputy Speaker Sylvanus Petty tried to cease the lawmaker and was hit on the pinnacle. He suffered a concussion and was hospitalized.
Police then dragged out a bunch of opposition lawmakers who refused to go away the room, in keeping with The Nassau Guardian.
The paper quoted Davis, the prime minister, as saying that previous to the scuffle, he had invited the opposition chief to a gathering after the session to speak in regards to the appointment of a brand new police commissioner.
