Bahamas Nat’l security minister denies cocaine trafficking involvement following arrest of senior cops

Wayne Munroe, the Bahamas Minister of National Security, has dismissed claims that he is the “high-ranking politician” referenced by U.S. law enforcement authorities in connection with a cocaine trafficking scheme. In an interview with The Tribune newspaper, Munroe firmly denied any involvement, stating that he had neither received money nor been asked to facilitate any illegal activities. This comes amid allegations that a politician in the Bahamas may have been implicated in aiding drug trafficking, but Munroe maintains his innocence and rejects the accusations.

“I have not offered to accommodate any wrongdoing, and I state that categorically,” he told the newspaper.
Prime Minister Phillip Davis told Parliament on Wednesday that the revelations by the United States authorities linking members of the Royal Bahamas Police Force (RBPF) and the Royal Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF) strike at the “core of who we are as a nation”.

“Madam Speaker, this House and the Bahamian people deserve answers,” he said, adding that the government of The Bahamas will act decisively to ensure that those responsible for these breaches, regardless of rank or position, are held accountable.

“This betrayal will not go unanswered,” he vowed.

The United States attorney for the Southern District of New York, Damian Williams, Wednesday said that as alleged, for years, drug traffickers have smuggled tons of cocaine through The Bahamas with the support and protection of corrupt Bahamian government officials who control airports throughout the country and provide sensitive information about US Coast Guard movements to drug traffickers.

“This Indictment is the latest in a series of charges that this office and the DEA’s Special Operations Division have brought against corrupt government officials around the globe, who partner with dangerous cocaine traffickers,” he added.

Williams, along with Anne Milgram, the administrator of the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) announced on Wednesday afternoon the unsealing of the indictment charging 13 defendants with cocaine importation and related weapons offenses in connection with their participation in a massive cocaine importation conspiracy enabled by “corrupt Bahamian government officials”.

The indictment states that in or about September 2024, one of the men arrested explained that, in exchange for a two-million-dollar bribe, a high-ranking Bahamian politician, whom the man named, would authorize the assistance and involvement of armed RBPF officials to facilitate incoming cocaine shipments.

But Munroe, who is currently attending a Caribbean Community (CARICOM) ministers of national security meeting in St Kitts, told the newspaper whether the politician’s identity is disclosed will depend on whether the US communicates the matter confidentially or not.

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“The prime minister is dealing directly with that aspect of it and I would prefer to defer to him for that. But I know that in some of these law enforcement matters, information is given to you on the basis that you do not disclose it,” Monroe said.

Munroe also commented on statements posted on social media, questioning the future of Police Commissioner, Clayton Fernander, as a result of the arrests of members of the RBPF.

“I think the simple answer to it is, as put by the prime minister, we’re going to be holding everyone accountable. This is a very serious matter. It is said, if you read the indictment, that it began in May of 2021 and that preceded the time that this present administration came in before Mr Fernander took the chair.

“All I would say is, you judge the head of an organisation by how they react to things like this, and so you may have bad apples in every organisation and you judge the leadership by how they react to it, and so he will be judged by how he reacts to it, just as no doubt the public will judge us by how we react to it.”

Munroe said that while RBPF has shown a willingness to hold officers accountable, “what would be reprehensible is if police officers were doing things that were wrong and the police force was covering up for them

“What is being demonstrated is the police force isn’t covering up for persons,” he told the Tribune newspaper.