NASSAU, Bahamas, CMC – The Bahamas government has reiterated its zero tolerance towards corruption after a former member of the Royal Bahamas Defence Force was sentenced to four years in prison by a court in the United States earlier this week.
Darrin Roker was also given three years of supervised release for his role in a cocaine-smuggling conspiracy in which he accepted payments in exchange for providing information to help traffickers evade detection.
He had faced up to 20 years in jail. Still, the judge cited his advanced prostate cancer as a “powerful mitigating factor” and said that without it, he would have imposed a “substantial period of incarceration.”
Roker is the first of 13 defendants to be sentenced in a sweeping corruption case involving multiple law enforcement officers. During the hearing, his lawyer, Martin Roth, while acknowledging his client’s personal failings, said, “It’s not easy when you are living in a culture where the entire system, almost every branch, is infected with drug money and corruption.
“He was weak. He wasn’t himself. In that moment of weakness, he joined the conspiracy and took the $20,000 …”
The US indictment alleged that corrupt police officers and government officials, since May 2021, undermined the work and progress of Operation Bahamas, Turks and Caicos (OPBAT), which was launched in 1982 to police drug trafficking operations in the southern Bahamas.
“The increase in cocaine flow through The Bahamas has been a direct result of drug-fueled corruption that has infected various Bahamian institutions,” according to the indictment.
But in a statement posted on social media, the Director of Communications in the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM), Latrae Rahming, dismissed the accusation, saying the Phillip Davis administration continues to cooperate with international law-enforcement partners.
“The government remains resolute in its zero-tolerance approach to corruption and drug trafficking, and continues to cooperate closely with international law enforcement partners while strengthening internal accountability, oversight, and enforcement across all agencies.
“Individuals who betray the public trust face consequences and the actions of any one person do not define the integrity of the nation or the many public officers who serve honorable every day,” he said.
National Security Minister Wayne Munroe also defended the administration’s approach, telling reporters that prosecutions of law enforcement officers demonstrate that wrongdoing is being identified rather than ignored.
“People ask me, well, how do I feel because you have all of these cases coming up against law enforcement?. I would think we should be more afraid if you didn’t see cases. If you saw absolutely no case against a law enforcement officer, you should be afraid,” he added.
However, in a statement, the main opposition Free National Movement (FNM) leader, Michael Pintard, said The Bahamas cannot ignore “the gravity of what has occurred.
“A senior officer entrusted with sensitive responsibilities was found to have abused his position for personal gain and facilitated criminal activity that undermines our national security and damages our international reputation,” he said, adding “that serious breach of trust demands our reflection and action”.
Pintard said that a future FNM government would “recommit to removing bad actors, and deepening collaboration with local and international observers to improve investigative oversight.
“We also intend to ensure serious investment in training, internal oversight, ethics education, and modern accountability mechanisms that reduce the opportunity for corruption before it begins.
“I believe we can defend the integrity of the Royal Bahamas Defence Force while insisting on constructive reforms that reinforce accountability and professionalism at every level. Our national security demands it,” he added.
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