The Commander Operations' Strike Team, known as COST, may have been disbanded but their legacy and the action of the members of that team on the night of Thursday November 4th will ring on in history for many years.
And while their commander has been shielded with a safe transfer to another command desk, what is ACP Marco Vidal's level of involvement with his team at this trying time?
There are all kinds of stories out there - many of them just bad minded and fanciful - but it seems one of those reports may have more credibility that what the Commissioner of Police first gave it.
On Monday, we asked him plainly about ACP Vidal releasing his nephew's wife from the Independence Police Station. The ComPol chalked it up to silly season rumors, but this morning our newsroom received a photo of a police diary that didn't quite align with the commissioner's version of events. Courtney Menzies has all sides of this story.
After the Piper Cheyenne 1 landed on the Southern Highway carrying over two dozen bales of cocaine on Thursday night, ten members of the Bladen 11 were caught.
They spent the weekend behind bars, but were soon joined by the 11th member, Corporal Elmer Nah, and two others who were slapped with ammunition charges.
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
"On Saturday night, or Saturday evening, Independence police were on a checkpoint and having received certain information, they attempted to stop two vehicles that were coming from the direction of where the plane had landed. Upon stopping those vehicles, one of the vehicle was occupied by Corporal Nah, his wife, his daughter, and another police officer. A search of the vehicle led to the discovery of one issued 9mm pistol and over one hundred.223 rounds of ammunition."
The officer, PC Manuel Caliz, and his sister, Epifania Caliz, also found themselves in a jail cell. But for Epifania Caliz, her time behind bars was short.
That's because on that same Saturday night, multiple reports said ACP Marco Vidal went to the Independence Police Station to take her out of detention. And according to this police diary, where all movement inside the station is documented, she was released into Vidal's custody some time between 11:25 and 11:55pm.
But when we questioned the ComPol about it, he flatly denied those claims, saying they were rumors created to smear Vidal's reputation.
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
"We have a number of mischief makers. Right now it's like silly season in police, you know when election time is coming and both political parties are vying as to form this government, all kind of thing is said about every political party. Right now there is a vacancy for a deputy commissioner and it is silly season where everybody wants to be that deputy so they're doing what they can to tear down each other which is so sad. But I'm not going to be guided by gossip and those persons who are just saying things for their own things for their own, so I'm not even - that is not true, I can tell you that."
But in all that going around abut silly season, what the Commissioner didn't say is that he is the one who authorised the release of Epifania Caliz. The Commander Southern Region received the order to release:
Jules Vasquez
"Was she released into the custody of Marco Vidal?"
Voice of: Sr. Supt. Daniel Arzu, Commander Southern Region
"I cannot speak to that, simply because the young lady was released from police custody."
Jules Vasquez
"Was Marco Vidal at the police station?"
Voice of: Sr. Supt. Daniel Arzu, Commander Southern Region
"Yes."
Jules Vasquez
"Maybe he was being involved with the detainees or interacting and that may have lead to some type of confusion."
Voice of: Sr. Supt. Daniel Arzu, Commander Southern Region
"I would not have condoned that, because I am the Southern Regional Commander and I am in charge of the region and whatever was transferring at that station, that goes squarely at my feet and I am a no-nonesense man and I would do what is right and even if Mr. Vidal would have tried to advisely wrongly, I would have clearly told Mr. Vidal that I cannot to any sort of wrong advise."
The question now is did ACP Vidal's mere presence at the police station - pursuing a family interest - influence the regular police there? Another questions that hangs in this tangled tale of the COST, and the actual cost to the police department's public credibility.
We reached out to ACP Vidal for comment but he did not respond.
