Archbishop Drexel Gomez, one of the commissioners in the Lorequin Inquiry, assured on Wednesday that commissioners in the highly publicized drug inquiry are not attempting to indict anyone and will endeavour to be fair in their findings.
The three-man commission is inquiring into the events surrounding the detention of the motor vessel, Lorequin, by Defence Force officers who had been onboard HMBS Inagua in Nassau Harbour on June 20, 1992; and the alleged disappearance of packages of cocaine.
Public sittings of the commission came to an end following final written and oral submissions by attorneys. ﾠThe commissioners are expected to submit their report to Governor General Dame Ivy Dumont by the end of July.
Dame Ivy would in turn forward the report to Attorney General Alfred Sears, who will submit it to cabinet. ﾠThe report will then be laid on the table in the House of Assembly, before reportedly being made available for sale to the public. ﾠ
Archbishop Gomez admitted that some conclusions would be ﾓvery difficultﾒ to arrive at given the nature of the evidence presented.
He said the appointment of the commission was a ﾓwise ideaﾒ as the issues it looked at should have been examined a long time ago.
The hierarchy of the Police and the Defence forces were chastised during proceedings for not launching extensive investigations into the 12-year-old drug scandal.
ﾓI do hope that it will be possible to undo some of the harm done due to this terrible delay,ﾒ Archbishop Gomez said.
The commissioners are looking specifically at the discovery of cocaine onboard the Lorequin, the arrest of the two Dominican crewmembers and the events surrounding the delivery of the drugs to the Defence Force Base, Coral Harbour and then to the police drug storage room, Oakes Field.
Archbishop Gomez said the commission would base its findings solely on evidence submitted during the inquiry. ﾠThe commission heard 45 witnesses over 30 days of sittings.
ﾓI hope we would have not made too many enemies when we would have completed our report,ﾒ Archbishop Gomez said.
The drug incident resurfaced in 2002 when former U.S Ambassador J. Richard Blankenship alleged that there were improprieties on the part of members of the Defence Force during the arrest and removal of the drugs to the base.
Evidence during the commission pointed to three of 193 packages of cocaine going missing. ﾠ
However, Drug Enforcement Agency agents who appeared in closed sessions, reportedly confirmed reports by former Commissioner of Police, B. K. Bonamy that there were 240 packages placed on the Lorequin during an operation between Bahamian and U.S law enforcement agents. ﾠ
The former commissioner said 50 packages of cocaine actually went missing.
Wayne Munroe, attorney for 11 of the 12 HMBS Inagua crewmembers, said the witness that appeared in closed sessions pointed out that it is likely that the packages of missing drugs were part of the Dominicanﾴs pay-off.
However, Lead Counsel to the commission, Dennis Morrison, said it is ﾓmost unlikelyﾒ that the Dominicans would have taken the drugs as an act of outright theft as they would have been courting disaster and outright death. ﾠ
He advised the commission to view Mr. Munroeﾴs hypothesis as ﾓwholly improbable.ﾒ
Mr. Morrison said during the closed hearing, he learned that when drugs are being transshipped, a family member of persons involved in transshipment had to go to Colombia to be held hostage to secure the safe delivery of the drugs.
ﾓThat is the kind of world that weﾴre dealing with,ﾒ he said. ﾠﾓSome of the evidence that I have heard in this commission has been hair-raising to me.ﾒ
Additionally during submissions, Attorney Dion Hanna, who appeared on behalf of the family and estate of former Defence Force Officer Bachelette LaFleur, said he wanted to ensure that the officerﾴs disappearance is not tarnished by falsehood. ﾠ
According to Mr. Hanna, Mr. LaLleurﾴs wife approached his firm in tears after evidence given by Defence Force Staff Intelligence Officer Edison Rolle during the commission. ﾠMr. Rolle had characterized his former colleague as a self-seeking informant who divulged information to divert attention from his own wrongdoings.
ﾓ(His wife) wanted us to make an appearance to challenge and test the veracity of assertions which she believed to be false and scurrilous, which have clearly been the source of distress and pain for her family,ﾒ Mr. Hanna said.
Admitting that his client knows that here husband was ﾓno saintﾒ, Mr. Hanna referred to the fact that he was under indictment in the United States. ﾠ
Mr. LaFleur, who was a key source of information regarding the 1992 drug bust, was indicted on drug trafficking charges in 1995 and his extradition sought by the United States.
ﾠHe mysteriously vanished in 1996.
Mr. Hanna pointed out that, ﾓAn indictment only speaks to accusations and itself is not an indication of guilt.ﾒ
A coronerﾴs inquest was convened into Lafleurﾴs disappearance, but before it was concluded a rumor reportedly circulated that Lafleur was alive and well in Haiti. Subsequently, the proceedings came to a halt and were never reconvened.
Mr. Hanna said in reviewing the transcripts in the Lorequin, it is clear that there was extensive memory lapses by witnesses ﾓbordering on amnesiaﾒ, innuendos, half-truths and missing logs.
Mr. Hanna pointed out how entries on crucial receipts and in logs were inappropriately altered. ﾠHe added that there were blatant failures to establish protocols and procedures.
He said there has been an ﾓalarming failureﾒ by the Police and Defence forces to adequately investigate an abundance of compelling evidence emanating from the drug scandal.
Hadassah Hall, The Bahama Journal
