A police officer who works at the Tafuna Correctional Facility was arrested Wednesday night after he released three inmates from the TCF and drove them in the TCF van to the east side without proper authorization. The inmates who were transported without proper authorization have all been convicted of drug related cases. The TCF van that was used by the officers and the inmates has since been impounded by the CID.

According to some police officers, who are not authorized to talk to the media, the police received a tip about the TCF vehicle being used by the officer and the three inmates.

Witnesses in the town area told Samoa News that the Criminal Investigation Division intercepted the vehicle in town and found the officer and three inmates who were supposed to be in jail. It’s alleged that this occurred around 8pm Wednesday night.

CID Commander, Lavata’i Ta’ase Sagapolutele declined to comment when Samoa News reached out to him with questions. Outgoing Commissioner of Public Safety William Haleck, who was in his office yesterday, also declined to comment. Through his secretary, Haleck said that he was unaware of such an incident.

However, Acting police commissioner Save Liuato Tuitele told Samoa News that the CID received an anonymous phone call Wednesday evening about a TCF van parked at Alofau on the property owned by the family of an inmate.

He said the correctional officer, who was the driver of the van, was not authorized to take the van out, much less take the inmate out without authorization. “According to investigators, the correctional officer [allegedly] lied that his night supervisor gave him authorization to take the inmates out of TCF,” Save said yesterday afternoon.

“Why the correctional officer took the inmates to Alofau is still part of the ongoing investigation but the correctional officer is in custody,” he said, adding that no illegal substances were found during a police search of the van, but cell phones were found on one or two inmates in the van.

Police officers have not been authorized to talk to the media, however, word has it that this is not the first time this transaction has occurred— and it was believed that the inmates and the officer went to uplift a package in Alofau..

The said police officer had been transferred to the TCF in 2013 after working with the Patrol Unit for quite some time, however, not long after he began working at the jail, the officer was arrested for a DUI.

Samoa News understands this officer has been with the force for almost ten years, and further notes this is not the first time police officers have been involved in the release of inmates.

Last year, former police officer Fiti Aina was slapped with a $5,000 fine in connection with his role in allowing inmates to leave the Tafuna Correctional facility for a beer run to a nearby store.

Another incident occurred in September 2014, when a female inmate, Fuala’au Tuua was released from jail to attend the signing of their family business landscaping contract with the Federal Aviation Administration, however it was learned she was released by authorization of the Warden. Although at the time, when Samoa News asked then Police Commissioner Haleck about Tuua’s release, he noted that he didn’t understand why the business paperwork couldn’t have been signed at TFC.

Fualaau, who was implicated in four separate cases on allegations of stealing, forgery and passing bad checks to get money to “impress her boyfriend and his family” was convicted of forgery and sentenced to serve 28 months in jail.

Samoa News reporter Fili Sagapolutele contributed to this report.