HRP officer faces charges after allegedly stealing from evidence locker

Global News, globalnews.ca
BYLINE: Heide Pearson, Online Producer/Reporter, Global News

Halifax, Nova Scotia


A Halifax Regional Police officer faces charges after substances stolen from an HRP evidence locker. The Canadian Press

A Halifax Regional Police officer is facing three charges as a result of an investigation by the Nova Scotia Serious Incident Response Team (SiRT).

Const. Laurence Gary Basso has been charged with theft and breach of trust after a substance known as “cut” went missing from an HRP exhibit locker.

"Cut’ is used in the illegal drug trade and is mixed with the actual drug to increase quantity and profitability,” reads the SiRT report.

SiRT also charged Const. Basso with one count of breach of justice, which relates to alleged steps that were taken to help another person avoid detection and arrest by police.

Halifax Regional Police acknowledged the charges through a series of tweets, and assured the public that the charges don’t reflect the entire force’s work.

Halifax_Police, @HfxRegPolice
The charges against D/Cst Basso are an isolated incident that doesn’t represent the great work our officers do day in & day out. 3/3 6:56 AM - 27 Jan 2016

“This is a very serious allegation and we don’t take this matter lightly,” reads a release from HRP.

“To help prevent this type of situation from happening in future, we’ve conducted an audit of our drug exhibits and are awaiting the results and recommendations.”

The SiRT report also says that through the course of the investigation, 20 witnesses and five civilian witnesses were interviewed.

The incidents are alleged to have happened between Jan. 1 and March 14 of 2015.

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