Arthur Balom, an Opa-locka police captain, has been arrested on allegations he helped protect a South Florida drug ring and had knowledge of the murder of a Brinks armed truck guard that happened last year. The arrest was part of an FBI investigation. Three other men, members of the drug ring, were also arrested. Two other suspects remain at large.
According to Local 10's FBI sources, Balom allegedly protected the ring leader of the drug organization and fed him information to keep him out of jail.
Balom is also accused of having knowledge of a plan to rob a Brinks truck in Miramar in May 2010 but doing nothing to stop it. That robbery turned deadly when 48-year-old Brinks guard Alejandro Nodarse Arencibia was fatally shot. Balom also supposedly knew the whereabouts of one of the suspects while he was on the run but again did not alert his colleagues.
Balom was arrested at his home early this morning. Meanwhile, FBI agents were seen taking boxes of evidence from the Opa-locka Police Department today, according to NBC Miami.
The arrest is just the latest but most serious charge lobbied against an officer in the department.
In May, New Times obtained memos that showed various officers were under investigation for a variety of crimes, including having sex with suspects, transporting alcohol in cop cars for private parties, and stealing public property.
