DominicanToday.com  - Seven colonels and 12 other officers of lower rank were discharged from the Drugs Control Agency (DNCD) for serious offenses or for being unreliably in the duties to fight drug trafficking, when they failed a polygraph (lie detector) test.

DNCD chief Rolando Rosado also revealed that five other officers, one Police and one Army colonel and a Navy Captain, were fired for failing to file their financial statement, whereas two captains were returned to the Air Force for the same reason, but didn’t provide their names.

He said the new mechanisms to purge and control the conduct of the DNCD’s members have led to the dismissal of more than 50 agents while others have been or brought up on charges in the last seven months. “The last result has been 19 officials, among them seven colonels and the same number of non-commissioned officers.”

The head of the DNCD said the cleanup will continue until all rotten apples have been removed. “More than DNCD 50 members have been expelled in the last in seven months, for taking part in to activities contrary to the regulations.”

 He said DNCD officers have been subjected to the polygraph test for two months, in coordination with the United States Embassy, as part of that nation’s collaboration to count on reliable personnel. “Some officials don’t pass the test because it was verified that they lied, or because they don’t act correctly at that moment or because they could’ve incurred in serious offenses in the past.”