Peruvian Govt sacks nearly 1000 police

Press, 8 February 1986, Page 10

Peruvian Govt sacks nearly 1000 police

NZPA-Reuter Lima The Peruvian Government, in its biggest purge of a police force tainted by alleged links to the cocaine trade, has discharged 930 officers. Interior Ministry decrees issued yesterday ordered 301 officers and 629 police agents into early retirement and set up a joint command for the four police agencies. Two-thirds of the country’s police generals and almost half the colonels have been sacked since the President, Mr Alan Garcia, took office in July and launched an anti-cor-ruption drive. The Government has vowed to streamline the top-heavy command of the 85,000-member police force, long tom by rivalries and duplication of effort. The Interior Minister,

Mr Abel Salinas set a sixmonth deadline to complete the unification of the force under one command and merge its intelligence agencies and training academies. The list of discharged officers was published in the official “El Peruano" newspaper. Copies were snapped up by hundreds of anxious off-duty police milling around the paper’s offices. The edition sold out, police fighting over the last available copies. Those discharged include 45 colonels, 32 lieu-tenant-colonels and 25 majors. It has been said that some top officers have links to the cocaine trade. On Tuesday the Attor-ney-General’s Office charged four former chiefs of the detective corps and the Civil Guard with dereliction of duty

for failing to probe a big cocaine ring. The office said that although evidence of the gang’s activities had existed for years, the police had begun making arrests only in July. The ring is believed to have shipped half a tonne of cocaine monthly to the United States.