Bahamaian Police Commissioner Clayton Fernander says senior members of the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency (NCA) will arrive this month to “personally oversee” aspects of the investigation surrounding voice notes that purported to capture a quid-pro-quo arrangement involving a senior police officer, a lawyer and two murdered men, Michael Fox Jr and Dino Smith.
“In cooperation with our international partners, we have forwarded files in relation to the case to the UK National Crime Agency (NCA) to aid in the investigation,” he said in a statement yesterday, according to The Tribune newspaper.
He said John Michael McKeon, the head of the NCA’s anti-corruption unit, and Andrew John Black, a senior investigator, will arrive in The Bahamas on August 14 and depart on August 17. He said Francisco Savvaki Kyriarou, an NCA investigator based in Miami, will join the team.
“The Royal Bahamas Police Force is fully cooperating with these international experts to ensure that all facets of the investigation are covered comprehensively,” he said, according to the newspaper report. “This collaboration underscores our resolve to address these allegations with the utmost seriousness and diligence.”
The conversation on the voice notes centred around a $1.5m airport bank car heist in November. Fox Jr and Smith were suspects in that matter but were never charged. Two other men, Oral Roberts, 34, and Akeil Holmes, 26, were charged in connection with the robbery. Roberts was killed in the Fox Hill area last month, The Tribune said.
Michael Johnson, the head of the Central Investigations Department, has taken garden leave as authorities investigate.
Fernander has said the Security and Intelligence Branch of the police force is investigating the matter. He said the Police Complaints Inspectorate, a little-known body that has traditionally lacked the resources to perform its duties, would supervise the SIB’s investigation.
Michael Fox Sr, the father of Fox Jr, told The Tribune last month that his son gave him the voice notes and told him to release the recordings if he died. He said he was not behind the release of the tapes. Sandra Smith, the mother of Dion Smith, said her son also informed her about the voice notes and their significance, but she never got them, The Tribune reported.
Former Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis has urged his successor to appoint a Commission of Inquiry. At the same time, FNM leader Michael Pintard has accused the administration of not acting urgently to protect the Royal Bahamas Police Force’s reputation and preserve the public’s trust in the institution.