An employee of the Materials Management Unit (MMU) of the Ministry of Public Health was yesterday charged with stealing blood sugar test strips from the Diamond bond, even as the ministry announced that two more workers had resigned in wake of what it called the police’s “smashing” of a suspected drug theft ring at the facility.
A day after the ministry announced that one of the workers who was arrested had confessed to stealing medical supplies, Daquan Griffith, 19, was arraigned before city magistrate Leron Daly on a larceny charge.
The charge against Griffith, of Castello Housing Scheme, stated that on May 17, at the MMU, he stole four boxes of blood glucose test strips, valued at $20,000 and which were the property of the Ministry of Public Health.
Although Police Prosecutor Suraj Singh said Griffith had admitted to the crime in a statement to the police, the youth pleaded not guilty to the charge.
Singh objected to bail being granted although he noted that the file in relation to the matter was incomplete. Magistrate Daly subsequently granted Griffith his release on $50,000 bail and adjourned the case until June 2.
Meanwhile, the ministry yesterday reported that two more employees of the MMU had resigned, bringing the total number of staffers who have resigned to three after the arrest of 15 workers on Wednesday.
The workers, who have since been released on station bail, were held in connection with the theft of some US$500 worth of medical supplies from the Diamond bond.
On Wednesday, police, acting on information, intercepted a bus with the stolen items at the Diamond facility. Additional items were discovered in the bond’s washroom. The police detained and questioned the workers, resulting in one resigning “with immediate effect” and another—Griffith—reportedly admitting to the crime.
The statement issued by the ministry yesterday quoted an unnamed senior official as stating that just a handful of MMU staffers turned up to work yesterday. It also said that two employees have “signaled verbally” that they will not be returning to the ministry.
The ministry is, however, maintaining that the three resignations will not hurt operations at the holding facility, since manpower from other health facilities within Region Four is being redirected to cushion the loss.
‘Systematically raided’
In the absence of Public Health Minister Volda Lawrence, who is currently on travel duties, the statement explained that other functionaries that advise on pharmaceutical management were “working feverishly to bring the situation to adequate balance.”
Claiming that “the bond was systematically raided” by dishonest employees, the statement explained that MMU executives had long suspected pilfering of drugs, medicines, pharmaceuticals and other supplies, and got a break after Wednesday’s arrest. It noted that police hauled in a busload of employees for questioning following the discovery of items stashed away in a washroom in the Diamond facility and a search of the bus transporting them back to the city the same afternoon yielded more stolen supplies, following a sting operation by MMU senior officials.
Suspicion has seen the workers operating “under the microscope” since January, following a Cabinet shakeup, which saw Lawrence assuming the post of health minister.
Upon assuming office, Lawrence reportedly instituted systemic changes and utilized insider information to bring pressure on the staff and help MMU officials crack the ring, the ministry said.
This situation is one of several controversies related to drug procurement, which has dogged the Public Health Ministry over the last two years.
Drug shortages continue to be reported across the country even as the ministry claims that MMU records of distribution show that in many cases the shortages are artificially created, and a result of theft by ministry employees.
The ministry maintains that some of those involved in the theft have markets in the private pharmaceutical sector, where the stolen items are allegedly sold.
“Anything that intercept[s] corrupt practices and allow[s] smooth transaction of business at the country’s largest holding facility will allow for more and continuous presence of medicines and medical supplies in the various regions and various health facilities [and] would be a gain for the health system and the country at large,” a “well-placed official” was quoted as saying in the official statement.
