He was once known as the Spy Chief under the previous New National Party (NNP) government of ex-Prime Minister, Dr. Keith Mitchell.
Now Superintendent of Police, Antony De Gale who has fallen into disgrace is about to be hauled in by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) for questioning in connection with the shredding of secret files from the Special Branch of the Royal Grenada Police Force (RGPF).
This was disclosed by Commissioner of Police James Clarkson at a press conference held Monday at headquarters at Fort George. The island's Chief Cop has instructed head of CID, Superintendent, Anthony Joseph to spearhead the probe into the missing files that has sent shock waves throughout the island.
Well placed sources told GRENADA TODAY that although De Gale is likely to be picked up for questioning within a matter of days, it is not clear who would eventually take over the investigation since Supt. Joseph is due to take holiday leave from Monday.
The second in Command at the unit is Supt. Trevor Modeste but insiders at RGPF have raised serious question marks about his alleged closeness to the ousted regime of Keith Mitchell.
Speculation is rife that a trusted officer might be appointed by Commissioner Clarkson to take over the investigation from Supt. Joseph who is taking six months leave of absence from the job.
Clarkson has already said that he is determined to leave no stone unturn to get at the bottom of the mysterious disappearance of those files from the Special Branch Unit.
He told reporters that in the process of reorganising RGPF he decided to look at Special Branch and after conducting an appraisal it was discovered that there was no files on hand.
He said that one of the functions of the Branch is to develop relevant information in order to provide timely, accurate and relevant intelligence to the Commissioner and by extension, the government of the day.
Clarkson disclosed that in order to do this, the Branch must create files, and that the responsibility for the maintenance and security of those records is vested in the Officer in Charge."It is difficult for me to say this to you, but as I am speaking now, there isn't one file in that department," he said.
"I am in the Office of the Commissioner of Police, and I don't have a file that I can refer to where that Branch is concerned," he added.
According to Clarkson, from all reports, the files were destroyed immediately following the July 8 General Election which saw the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) sweeping out Mitchell's NNP from power.
Clarkson said that before the appraisal began, the Head of the Department, the controversial, Supt. De Gale was sent on 120 days accumulated leave due to him.
Inspector Brian Parkes, an officer with years of experience at the branch, was brought back to the department to act as Officer in Charge. The Police Chief said that Supt. De Gale informed his successor that it was the norm for him to extract the information which was sent on to"the powers that be," and then shred the hard copy files.
However, Clarkson noted that if even if the hard copies were shredded, there should be electronic copies available for future reference."Every time I think about it, it comes over as a familiar ring to me... The Minister takes over the Ministry (of Finance) and Treasury, and yet no money", he remarked.
"I take over a police department, no files. So how does this relate to what is happening?" Clarkson asked. Clarkson stated that the Head of Special Branch is mandated to report to the Commissioner of Police, but that since he assumed Office, the officer has failed to report to him.
"I am not looking to victimise anyone, but some questions have to be answered. Who was this department working for? Was the department working in the interest of the Force as is stated in the Force's Standing Orders? If not, what was its functions? Why were files destroyed immediately after the elections?" he asked.
Outgoing Commissioner of Police, Winston James admitted that De Gale was working on his own when the Special Branch carried out a secret spying operation on Congress members at a private meeting on Lucas Street in February.
De Gale was often seen in the company of ex-Prime Minister, Dr. Keith Mitchell who was also the Minister responsible for National Security. Early Tuesday morning, he was spotted in close proximity to the law office of a prominent female attorney-at-law.
Among the files believed to be shredded by Supt. De Gale's office are those related to the spying incident in which nine NDC executive members were questioned for allegedly detaining and beating a member of the Branch who was openly caught in the act of espionage.
