TWO police officers accused of bribing a leading police investigator in a stolen ashes case with $30,000 will return to court tomorrow, Wednesday.
Allen Noni and Gravis Afuga, who are from the Henderson Police Post in Central Guadalcanal Province, are facing bribery charges.
The officers were supposed to take their pleas on Monday, but Public Prosecutor Jeremy Oiofa requested to withdraw the charge against Afuga under section 190 (2) (b) (i) of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC), which would see him acquitted.
The prosecutor also wanted to amend the charge under section 102 of the Penal Code, so that only Noni is charged with two counts of Bribery contrary to section 122 (a) of the Penal Code.
Principal Magistrate Emily Zazariko Vagibule Pakoa adjourned the matter to Wednesday this week to allow the prosecution to draft the amended charge and make the application for Afuga’s withdrawal.
The allegations against the two officers stem from an investigation last year into stolen gold ashes worth SBD2.6 million.
The officers were part of the investigation team, but allegedly bribed the lead investigator with $30,000 to cease the investigation into Max Gura’s involvement in the offence of Simple Larceny.
The bribe was intended to divert the investigation to focus only on the prime suspect, who is still at large.
The officers were arrested and charged after two occasions of bribe last November.
Gura and his wife Miriam Sasau, the defendants in the gold ashes case, had already pleaded not guilty to the charge of Simple Larceny and the Possession of Police Property in the Honiara Magistrate Court.
They are now awaiting a pre-trial conference.
Gura’s lawyer made a bail application, which the court will deliver this Thursday.
The prime suspect, who stole the gold from his boss inside his boss’s vehicle, is still at large.
It is alleged that Max Gura assisted the prime suspect to escape to a village in Guadalcanal in his vehicle before fleeing to Malaita in November 2024.
Before escaping, the prime suspect allegedly handed the remaining gold ashes to Gura, who sold them and used the proceeds to buy vehicles and a piece of land.
On 5 December 2024, police executed a search warrant at the couple’s residence and found a small bottle containing gold ashes and $6,317.60 in cash and police uniforms.
The defendants were arrested on 4 December 2024, while trying to board MV Ocean Joy.
Lawyers from the Public Solicitor’s Office represent the two officers.
By ASSUMPTA BUCHANAN
Solomon Star, Honiara
