“Genre classic!” – This is about the consignments of cocaine hidden in banana boxes, which, due to the logistics of drug addiction, do not reach the customer, but in grocery stores, say drug dealers. If previously the same faulty shipment was found in stores in Poland, Germany, Belgium, then before Christmas an impressive amount of cocaine was also found in our country – Latvia. The police have initiated criminal proceedings in connection with the incident, and in this context, the program “Nothing Personal” has invited the Chief of the State Police Armands Ruka to a conversation.
“Nothing personal”: What the police have managed to find out during these holidays and also in the first week of the new year In the Maxima cocaine case?
Chief of the State Police Armands Ruks: This is not just a Latvian issue, we cooperate extensively with other countries. At the moment, I can say that exactly the same amount of cargo has been found in Poland, in the Czech Republic. Accordingly, we are cooperating with the related services of these countries. Also in connection with all logistics issues, possible transport directions for customers, organizers, etc. There is cooperation with both Lithuania and Estonia and so on. Europol is also involved.
“Nothing personal”: Understandably, there are no suspects in Latvia. Are these two other countries?
Chief of the State Police Armands Ruks: I would not like to comment on this at this time.
“Nothing personal”: What is the quality of the drugs found in Latvia and approximately what is the value of this cargo?
Chief of the State Police Armands Ruks: Expertise is still ongoing, it must be understood that every gram, every quantity must be weighed, chemically studied and then a final conclusion can be given. But the supposed drugs are very pure, so they come most likely straight from the manufacturer. Their value is estimated at more than 30 million euros.
“Nothing personal”: The so – called In the Koknese case the investigation is over, the trial begins next Friday, and four people, including former State Police officer Agris Vaivods, are promised to be accused. However, Jānis Skrābāns, the owner of the transport company JS Products, managed to get out of the country before the special police operation, he is still in search. What are the police suspected of Scrab?-
Chief of the State Police Armands Ruks: For participation in this crime.
“Nothing personal”: What was his participation like?
Chief of the State Police Armands Ruks: I will refrain from commenting at this time. In any case, he was not the last person.
“Nothing personal”: In any case, the defendants are currently sitting on the bench. It then turns out that the potential negotiator has been alerted. Who could have warned him, could this be information leaked from the police?
Chief of the State Police Armands Ruks: If we talk about cocaine, then its origin is definitely always South America, here we cannot talk only about five Latvian citizens, this chain is longer and the circle of those involved is definitely wider. This is simply transnational organized crime, it is not the first case and Latvia is not the first country to do so. We are well aware of what is happening in the countries of Central Europe, in the big ports, where larger quantities are still being withdrawn. It must be said that the search for this person is still ongoing.
“Nothing personal”: But he was not warned, is it found out?
Chief of the State Police Armands Ruks: I do not have that information. I have been present at the investigation since, it can be said, from the very beginning within my remit, in particular, there was no time to warn anything before the investigation began. At least before that, the Latvian police did not have such information to such an extent that a regular police officer or someone else could warn about it.
“Nothing personal”: It has been said unofficially that Scrapan is in Spain, can you confirm that?
Chief of the State Police Armands Ruks: I can’t confirm.
“Nothing personal”: What is going on with the investigation, three years have passed?
Chief of the State Police Armands Ruks: It will be seen how the evidence is strengthened against the four people who will be sitting on the bench next week. We believe that their guilt has been proven. But, of course, we have to keep looking, we have to find this person and maybe we will continue to search…
“Nothing personal”: In the last days of the year, you held several high-ranking police rotations. Why such rotations?
Chief of the State Police Armands Ruks: Rotation does not always mean something bad. In this case, I completely categorically reject the suspicion that one of the reputable officers has done something that he should rotate due to poor performance or some suspicion. Rotation is one of the methods of human resource management to develop an institution. These men have proven themselves in positions for more than six years. I have no information that these men are involved in any way in a way that makes these men rotate in a bad way.
“Nothing personal”: Pēteris Bauska was once a rotator in the ENAP to “strengthen and develop the investigation of economic crimes”. Bauska did it?
Chief of the State Police Armands Ruks: But you see how many have been arrested, how many have been frozen, how many have been confiscated, how the fight against economic crime has progressed. Of course, we can only imagine an ideal world, it is undeniable that there is room for development, all sorts of new things are coming up, such as digitalisation, also in the field of crime – crime is transforming into the digital world. These are real challenges, not just in the area of economic crime. Why Mr. Bauska has been promoted to the office of the Anti-Organized Crime Board, because I and the senior management of the Criminal Police believe that the capacity of the VP to fight organized crime, recognize and seize criminal assets here in our country, even for other drug workers, should be strengthened. illicit trafficking in substances. That is the goal, and Mr Bauska has that experience and he will be able to breathe new life into this institution, in my view.
“Nothing personal”: If we remember that one of the most important companies in the Latvian economy, Liepājas metalurgs, went bankrupt nine years ago, the state invested huge funds – 160 million euros, because it was suspected that the company was actually stolen, including the owners. The money was not recovered, the company did not resume operations, ENAP started three criminal proceedings, all of which were terminated, one last September. The VAT carousel schemes, the funds of Liepājas metalurgs were scrapped, the fraud was not confirmed or, more precisely, the case was closed due to the statute of limitations. There are almost half of such cases in the police, which have expired. What does this mean? The police may have been suspected but the evidence has not been gathered in time. What will these rotations bring if investigators and operatives remain the same, with the same skills and abilities?
Chief of the State Police Armands Ruks: VP. Old events, but, of course, very significant. Because of this significance, imagine what it means not to pay full attention to a case of this magnitude, a qualitative investigation, and the like. As far as I know, one separate criminal case against the Treasury officials and also the Minister at the time was, in my opinion, prosecuted by the Public Prosecutor’s Office, but in the end, in my opinion, the General Prosecutor’s Office took the final decision. It is not just the work of the police that needs to be addressed, it is also the work of the supervisory authority, a collaboration, to say the least. We are ready to answer for mistakes, but in the same sled with the prosecutor’s office.
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