So many questions arise from the AFM’s latest debacle, that it can be hard to know where to start.
This is what we know: Roughly 200kg of cannabis resin seized at the Freeport in June 2024 was being stored inside a container on AFM property, pending destruction.
At 3am on Sunday morning, army officers on patrol discovered that the container had been forced open. The drugs inside were missing. No AFM personnel had reported any suspicious activity, despite the area being under CCTV surveillance.
Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri immediately suspended the AFM’s commander and offered his own resignation. The prime minister flatly rejected the minister’s offer.
Now come the things that we do not know.
How does 200kg of anything vanish from a guarded army facility, without anyone noticing? Why were drugs seized in June still awaiting destruction seven months later? Apart from the brigadier, have any other AFM officials been suspended?
The people deserve to know the chain of command in cases of similar drug busts. Who oversees the operation? Who is responsible for the drug destruction? Are the people meant to oversee the process sleeping at the wheel? Are our law enforcement officers qualified to do the job?
The AFM and all its operations must now be scrutinised by an independent assessor. After all, if the prime minister wants to spend more taxpayers’ money on defence, then citizens need some sort of assurance that money is not going to criminals in uniforms.
The whole issue is an embarrassment and a further dent in the credibility of local law enforcement.
A week ago, police allowed a suspected criminal off the hook by failing to present evidence against him in court. Now, the army has let 200kg of cannabis vanish from beneath its nose.
Hopefully, any such probe will also help remove the impregnable veil of secrecy that has surrounded the AFM in recent years. The army’s work requires an element of secrecy by its very nature. But that does not mean none of its work should be known to the public.
It is rare – and heartening – to see a politician offer to carry the can for failures under his watch.
Abela’s decision to decline the resignation is no surprise, especially with a minister who enjoys relatively high ratings.
Historically, the home affairs ministry is one of the toughest to run. But for years, it has faced intense scrutiny due to a series of damning reports exposing severe shortcomings in the sectors under its watch.
An independent report recently concluded that the Corradino prison was run like a form of hell until 2021, with inmates mistreated and abused. The man responsible for that reign of terror, as it happens, is also a former AFM man.
The AFM was unable to catch two men who jumped off a plane, ran across the runway and away from airport grounds.
And the biggest crime of all – two army officers have been charged with murdering a man because he was black.
Meanwhile, a former top police officer was charged with leaking information about a murder investigation to its prime suspect. And less high-ranking police officers were charged with leaking information about drug busts to their targets.
There is good reason why the latest incident is the final straw.
The authorities may scramble to contain the fallout, perhaps even pin the blame on a convenient scapegoat, true accountability and the source of these problems remain elusive.
At a time when the public is rightfully focused on potential geopolitical concerns – this latest scandal only deepens the sense of unease.