Mountie Found Not Guilty After Being Charged for Accessing Database to Help Rwanda Case

An RCMP officer has been found not guilty of three charges stemming from his unauthorized access of a police database while he was stationed in Red Deer, Alberta.

Const. Eli Ndatuje was found not guilty of breach of trust by a public officer, unauthorized use of a computer system, and breach of trust in respect of safeguarded information under the Security of Information Act by the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta on Oct. 2.

Federal prosecutors had alleged that Ndatuje searched internal police databases in 2022 to retrieve protected information for a foreign government, following two instances in which he had contact with the High Commission of Rwanda in Ottawa.

Ndatuje was arrested and charged by federal prosecutors in February 2024 under the Security of Information Act and the Criminal Code, following an extensive investigation dubbed “Operation Salt Mine.” Investigators used wiretaps and up to 30 officers and civilian staff during the investigation.

During trial, court heard that Ndatuje’s initial contact with the embassy in April 2022 was to clear up confusion regarding his wife’s travel documents.

On the second occasion, the court heard that Ndatuje searched the police database on his own initiative after a friend at the High Commission raised concerns about a housekeeper working at the Rwandan ambassador’s home who had disappeared. Ndatuje admitted to conducting the database search out of concern for the missing person but denied passing on the information, calling the search a mistake in judgment rather than an act of espionage.

Justice Jason Wilkins found him not guilty on all three charges, stating that while the investigation was thorough, the resulting evidence was insufficient to support the charges.

Wilkins said that Ndatuje’s use of the police computer system had originally been flagged by a supervisor in Red Deer and handled internally with a note on his file. The judge said the matter could have ended there, adding that Ndatuje’s actions were “not nefarious.”

During the trial, Wilkins said Canada has seen a significant increase in the frequency, sophistication, and illegality of foreign interference in recent years.

The Canadian Press contributed to this report.