Port au Prince – The General Inspectorate of National Police of Haiti (IGPNH) has sent its investigation report on the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse to the Ministry of Justice, the spokesperson for the National Police of Haiti (PNH), Divisional Inspector Garry Desrosiers, has announced.
Moise was gunned down at his private residence on July 7 last year. His wife Maritine survive the assassination and had to be flown to the United states for medical treatment.
While several people have been arrested and appeared in courts in the United States linked to the assassination, no one has been formally charged here even though several former Colombian soldiers have been arrested in Haiti in connection with the killing.
Desrosiers gave no details of the investigation, but told reporters that the IGPNH had sent its report on the assassination to the Ministry of Justice for the necessary follow-up. He did not elaborate.
Meanwhile, he said 82 police officers have been imprisoned on the orders of the authorities on several alleged crimes.
Desrosiers said the IGPNH also recommended the dismissal of the police officer whom it has linked to the criminal group “Barikad Crew”, accused of having assassinated Vertil Élie in Canapé-Vert on Wednesday January 26, 2022.
Desrosiers said that the General Inspectorate of the PNH is working with the Central Directorate of Judicial Police (DCPJ) on other cases of arms and ammunition trafficking in which police officers are involved.
Desrosiers also disclosed that at least 40 bandits were fatally injured in exchanges of gun fire with the police during the period September to November across all the police jurisdictions of the country and that more than a dozen weapons and ammunition were seized and more than 1 550 bandits arrested.
He said the police have also seized 27.276 kg of marijuana, 1.2 kg of cocaine and more than US30 000 seized during the various operations.
The authorities estimate that there are now an estimated 200 gangs operating across Haiti, and around 95 in the capital, Port-au-Prince, resulting in a major insecurity crisis, with large-scale attacks on communities, politicians and journalists, high levels of violence, mass kidnappings and large-scale forced displacements. (CMC)