Illegal drugs were found in the possession of a soldier serving with the Presidential Guard of Honour, the Nový Čas daily reported. Earlier this month police in Bratislava searched a luxury car in which three members of the guard were travelling and found marijuana and Pervitine (methamphetamine) worth more than €100 next to the soldier, named as Martin H., on the back seat. He was charged by investigators with producing, owning and dealing in illegal drugs, Bratislava Police spokesman František Peczár informed the Sme daily.
Defence Minister Ľubomír Galko told Sme that the soldier asked immediately after the incident to be released from the army and his superior approved his resignation. As he had served in the army for only three years, he will not receive any pension, compensation or social benefits. Galko considers the case a personal failure. "We have a very effective system of checks not only for narcotics, but for alcohol as well. In case of such a failure, any member of the armed forces leaves without the right to a retirement pension, regardless of how many years they have served. Our members will have to seriously consider whether they should risk their social benefits, which they could be eligible for the rest of their lives, for such a failure," the minister told the SITA newswire.
Sources: Nový Čas, Sme, SITA
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
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