An Alberta RCMP officer is accused of leaking protected policing information to the Rwandan government.
Const. Eli Ndatuje, 36, faces two criminal charges — breach of trust and unauthorized use of a computer — and a third charge of breach of trust in respect to safeguarded information under the Security of Information Act.
RCMP say Ndatuje “accessed non-top secret RCMP records systems in order to assist a foreign actor.”
Ndatuje was arrested on Saturday by the Mounties’ federal policing integrated national security enforcement team (INSET).
Court records show Ndatuje is accused of sending “safeguarded information on the Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC) system to a foreign entity, to wit the Republic of Rwanda.”
Ndatuje to surrender passport, remain in Alberta
CPIC is a national policing database that contains information about crimes and criminals.
According to its website, the CPIC system “links criminal justice and law enforcement partners across Canada and internationally.”
The front-line officer is accused of committing the alleged offences in Red Deer on April 23, 2022.
Ndatuje, who lives in Chestermere, has been released on a number of conditions, including that he surrender his passport, stay in Alberta and report for fingerprinting.
Ongoing investigation
After learning of the alleged security breach, the RCMP says it “implemented measures to monitor, mitigate and manage any further unauthorized disclosures and ensure maintenance of public safety as the investigation unfolded.”
“The RCMP is committed to combating foreign actor interference at all levels and is actively leveraging all tools at its disposal,” reads the release.
The investigation is ongoing, according to RCMP.
Ndatuje’s next court appearance is in Red Deer on March 11.
RCMP have not commented on Ndatuje’s current employment status with the RCMP.
