Commissioner: Someone tampered with Boston drug evidence

January 4, 2008 04:35 PM Email| Comments (0)| Text size – +

By Maria Cramer, Globe Staff

A sweeping, 14-month investigation into evidence tampering at the Boston Police Department central drug depository has revealed that someone either improperly removed or tampered with drugs confiscated in nearly 1,000 cases, Commissioner Edward F. Davis said today.

The drugs taken included cocaine, heroin, marijuana, and OxyContin, said Davis, who said that most likely the culprit was an officer because only police are allowed into the depository.

The FBI, prosecutors from Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley's office, and Boston police have launched a criminal investigation to determine who stole the drugs. And the revelation that at least one officer may have stolen drugs has sparked Davis to launch audits of all department units.

"We're really going to shake the place out and make sure that every department is up to national standards," Davis said.

The 12 officers who worked at the depository were removed last October, after police launched the investigation.

The audit examined 110,000 pieces of drug evidence from more than 74,000 cases between 1990 and 2006. Police officials had planned to audit only a small portion of the evidence in storage, but conducted a more thorough examination after they learned that someone had tampered with drugs after the audit was announced.

"It's an unprecedented step to do a complete inventory of drug evidence," Davis said. "I don't know anybody else in the Commonwealth who has done that."