The three-man Lorequin Commission of Inquiry is expected to submit its much-anticipated report to Governor General Dame Ivy Dumont by the end of August, The Bahama Journal has learned.
After Dame Ivy receives the report, she will forward it to Attorney General Alfred Sears, who will present it to Cabinet. ﾠThe report will then be laid on the table in the House of Assembly before reportedly being available for sale to the public. ﾠ
The report would come two months after final submissions by attorneys. ﾠThe commission began in February and ended in June.
According to a source close to the commission, the life of the commission had to be extended on two occasions. ﾠ
The source added that Commission president, retired Supreme Court Justice Stanley Moore flew last week to The Bahamas from Botswana where he was recently appointed as a Court of Appeal judge. ﾠ
He met in Grand Bahama with commissioners Anglican Archbishop, Drexel Gomez and former Deputy Police Commissioner Sir Albert Miller to work further on the report.
ﾓBefore the president went away, a lot of the report was done. ﾠThe others would have reviewed it and made their recommendations. ﾠFrom what I understand, theyﾴve been communicating by email,ﾒ said the source.
The three-man commission is inquiring into the events surrounding the detention of the motor vessel Lorequin by HMBS Inagua in Nassau Harbour on June 20, 1992.
The commissioners are looking specifically at the discovery of cocaine onboard the vessel, the arrest of the two Dominican crew and the events surrounding the delivery of the drugs to the Defence Force Base, Coral Harbour and then to the police drug storage room, Oakes Field.
The commission heard from 45 witnesses over 30 days of sittings.
The drug incident resurfaced in 2002 when former U.S Ambassador J. Richard Blankenship alleged that there were improprieties on the part of members of the Defence Force during the arrest and removal of the drugs to the base.
Evidence during the commission pointed to three of 193 packages of cocaine going missing. ﾠ
However, Drug Enforcement Agents who appeared in closed court, confirmed reports by former Commissioner of Police B. K. Bonamy that there were 240 packages placed on the Lorequin during an operation between Bahamian and U.S law enforcement agents. ﾠ
Reports are that 50 packages of cocaine actually went missing.
Hadassah Hall, The Bahama Journal
