JUSTICE Minister Loucas Louca and Police Chief Iacovos Papacostas were yesterday forced to defend the police for the umpteenth time after yet another drug squad officer was suspended
An officer from the Larnaca squad was suspended on Wednesday on suspicion that he had embezzled €140,000, which had been confiscated in connection with a drugs bust.
The matter only came to light when opposition party DISY made the case public. The money had reportedly been confiscated during a drugs raid on a woman’s house. Drug Squad officers found quantities of drugs and around €140,000 in cash.
The money was confiscated until the case reached court, where it was decided that the origin of the money couldn’t be proved and it should therefore be returned to the owner. It was only when the woman in question received a fraction of this amount that it emerged the money had been meddled with.
Pressed by the media to explain why the case hadn’t been spotted sooner, Louca and Papacostas brushed aside criticism that efforts were being made to cover the whole affair up.
The minister was keen to point out that the officer in question had not been suspended because of claims made through the media.
He said the whole procedure leading up to the suspension had started on Tuesday night when he had been informed about the case by Papacostas, who had also filled the Attorney-general in on the details. It was Louca who ordered the officer’s suspension on Wednesday.
“Under no circumstances was he suspended due to any other accusations,” the Minister said.
He denied the police and ministry had dragged their heels and delayed taking action. “As soon as it came to our attention, orders were given for the suspension and an investigation into the crimes; whether they are disciplinary or criminal,” said Louca.
The investigation, he added, was currently underway, though it was too soon to offer any further details.
Papacostas was similarly defensive when quizzed by reporters at the parliament yesterday. “From the very first moment we received information on what had happened, a criminal and disciplinary investigation was ordered,” the Police Chief explained.
He added that the case’s investigators had informed him that all the money had been returned to the owner. “For the police, these are extremely serious disciplinary offences, which is why the officer was suspended,” said Papacostas.
The specific case was under examination, he added, while investigators were also looking into other past cases handled by the officer in question.
Asked to comment on media reports that the officer had been covered by his superiors, either in Larnaca or the Central Police Headquarters, Papacostas said the police had no such information. “It was a case that was being handled by the suspended officer exclusively,” he said.
