San Pedro Police have arrested and charged one of their uniformed colleagues who is being accused of extortion. The accused is Police Constable No 1308 Elvin Nah, and he is currently attached to the San Pedro Police Formation. He was arrested and charged on Thursday July 24th following an incident that occurred on July 6th.
According to Deputy Commanding Officer of the San Pedro Police Formation Inspector Henry Jemmott, on July 17th at about 5PM, a male person visited the San Pedro Police station and made a formal report against PC Nah. “He stated that on July 6th, at about 1AM while heading home, he was stopped by police officers in front of a store on Pescador Drive. A search was conducted on his person by a Hispanic police officer and as a result two small plastic bags with suspected cannabis were found. The individual was then taken to the San Pedro Police Station where the suspected drug was weighed and amounting to four grams.”
But instead of charging the person, Jemmott said that the Hispanic officer allegedly offered to set the complainant free without charges, if the police officer in question was given $400. “The complainant then handed over eight (8) $50 notes to the police officer. As a result a statement was recorded from the complainant, video footage was reviewed and reports from other police officers working at the time were requested. An ID parade was conducted by Inspector Delfin Zuniga, where upon Elvin Nah was positively identified by the complainant as the person who purportedly extorted him.”
According to Jemmott, following an intensive investigation, the file was sent to the office of the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP). “The DPP gave the instructions to charge the officer with extortion. On the 24th of July PC Nah was detained and formally arrested and charged. He was informed of his constitutional rights and placed in a detention cell.”
Nah was escorted to the San Pedro Magistrate Court on July 24th before Magistrate Sherigne Rodriguez. In offering him bail, Magistrate Rodriguez explained that Nah must keep away from the complainant and must not interfere with him. Nah was offered bail in the sum of $2,000, which he was able to meet, and he is to reappear in court on September 17th.
The Belize Police Department has also launched an internal investigation, and Nah has been placed on interdiction with half salary pending a police tribunal hearing.
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