Commissioner will arrest remaining defendants when US seeks extradition for trafficking conspiracy
Commissioner of Police Clayton Fernander is awaiting a request from the US government to arrest the remaining individuals mentioned in a New York indictment following charges of conspiracy to transport cocaine and firearms into the United States.
Chief Superintendent Elvis Curtis of the Royal Bahamas Police Force and Chief Petty Officer Darren Roker of the Royal Bahamas Defense Force along with William Simeon and two Colombians– Lorielmo Steele-Pomare and Luis Fernando Orozco-Toro, were arrested by US officials.
Eight other men remain free.
“We will of course cooperate fully with the US Department of Justice and to date we have not received a request to arrest the other names in the indictment,” Commissioner Fernander said on Sunday in a television broadcast.
Fernander assured that he knows no other individual than those mentioned in the indictment.
“Neither have we given the names of any additional government officials who may be under suspicion. As far as I know, no one else has been given the names of any individual reference with the indictment,” he said.
According to the indictment, Curtis mentioned the name of a politician who allegedly authorized the shipment for $2 million.
The politician is not publicly known, but many speculate.
“Speculation as to who those individuals might be can be extremely damaging to the reputation of innocent people,” Fernander contended. “At the moment, nobody knows. We therefore discourage people from calling any names from the current or previous administration. It is pure speculation.”
The indictment said the crime and its investigation started in May 2021, with some pointing at the previous administration. As calls for Fernander’s resignation grow loud, he made it clear in his speech that he was not Commissioner at the time.
Fernander said he contacted the past Commissioner Paul Rolle and will reach out to the Former Prime Minister Hubert Minnis and the former Minister of National Security Marvin Dames to find out if any concerns were raised or intelligence given during their tenure.
