SOCU afraid to go ahead with Brutus matter
Embattled Assistant Commissioner of Police Calvin Brutus
January 13, 2024
The state continues to exhibit signs that it is either unprepared or unwilling to prosecute Assistant Commissioner of Police Calvin Brutus after slapping him with more than 200 charges back in 2024.
Since December 17, 2024, Special Organised Crime Unit prosecutors were asked to serve on Brutus and his legal team, statements in the matter but to date that has not been done.
In fact, serving statements on the accused or persons charged is catered for in law as it affords them a fair opportunity to see the allegation being made against them and what witnesses are testifying to say. the process of serving statements allowed for the law of the person who is charged, the study it, and ask key questions during cross-examination.
Initially, SOCU prosecutors indicated to the court that they would be making full disclosures in relation to the matter but subsequently told the court they would only be making partial disclosures.
SOCU has been accused of witness tampering, and engaging in acts of tampering with statements and pressuring persons to change their statements.
Interestingly, in an apparent case of putting the cart before the horse, SOCU has made an expatriate application, begging a local bank to now provide banking records on a businessman who was also charged about the Brutus probe Brutus. The move by SOCU is being seen as one geared to pad up the statement file in the investigation even after the man was charged.
An expatriate application is something that is supposed to be done before someone is charged. With this application now being made, it means that SOCU has charged the businessman for activities relating to his bank account without first verifying that his banking activities were legitimate and the funds that he moved in and out of his account could be properly accounted for.
With the expatriate application, it means that SOCU will not be looking to add alleged evidence to the file of a person who was already charged which is unlawful and against the law.
The Special Organised Crime Unit is headed by police officer Fizal Karimbaksh.
