OPM Publishes Terms Of Reference For 226KG Drug Heist Administrative Inquiry
The Office of the Prime Minister has released the terms of reference that Judge Geoffrey Valenzia should follow when conducting his administrative inquiry into the 226-kilogram drug heist from the AFM Safi headquarters.
The terms of reference outline the scope, objectives, and guidelines for the investigation.
The terms of reference are as follows:
a) To establish the facts, processes, procedures, laws, and systems that led to the court exhibit being placed in the custody of the Armed Forces of Malta;
b) Once this exhibit was under the custody of the Armed Forces of Malta, to examine whether all necessary security measures were taken in this case;
c) To investigate and determine whether there was a relationship between the processes, procedures, and decisions taken by any government department or legally established body in relation to this case and the theft of the exhibit in question;
d) To draw conclusions and present the necessary recommendations, both regulatory and administrative.
In summary, the inquiry should establish how the cannabis resin ended under the custody of the AFM, whether all security measures were being followed and if there were broader systemic failures that ultimately led to this theft.
This is one of three investigations looking into Sunday’s major robbery. Police investigations and a magisterial inquiry will be probing into different aspects of the crime.
The theft took place between Saturday night and Sunday morning and prompted Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri to offer his resignation which Prime Minister Robert Abela promptly refused.
Police have arrested eight suspects in connection to this crime and have recovered 85 kilograms of cannabis resin. This oversight triggered a major reaction from the Opposition Party which is calling for Camilleri’s resignation and claimed that this has waged a “war on drugs”.
Parliamentary debates have since gotten heated with the Nationalist Party requesting an urgent debate or for a vote of no confidence in Camilleri. Speaker Anglu Farrugia denied the Opposition’s request.
Both Abela and his Cabinet have continued to defend Camilleri, reiterating their faith in the Minister who admitted he still thinks he should step down.
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