The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) says it is aware of missing drug exhibits from the Court exhibit room in the Joshua Rahman matter and the recent police discovery that some remaining exhibits had allegedly been tampered with.
The ODPP says the matters are serious and investigations into the missing and potentially tampered exhibits are ongoing.
It says destruction of drug exhibits is subject to due legal process, noting that in the Rahman matter, retrial and appeal proceedings remained ongoing.
Following the conclusion of those proceedings, the ODPP says it was preparing the necessary application for destruction when the missing drugs were discovered.
The ODPP says it cannot comment on its priorities or processes before 2023, but since the establishment of the Anti-Narcotics Division in 2024, it has prioritised applications for the destruction of drug exhibits.
It points to the Justin Ho case, involving more than 4.1 tonnes of drugs, where the necessary application was made and the drugs have since been destroyed through the legal process.
In the Vatia drug matter, the ODPP says it has informed the Court of its intention to apply for destruction of the exhibits, with the application scheduled for October 15.
The ODPP says proper and timely management of drug exhibits is important because of the risks associated with their continued storage.
It says it will continue prioritising destruction where exhibits are no longer required for evidential purposes and legal requirements have been met.
The ODPP says it will allow investigations into the missing and potentially tampered exhibits to take their normal course and will make no further comment.
