The worst blow came on Nov. 19, when Tatjana Durova, deputy chief of the economic police, was accused of accepting a 10,000 lat ($16,100) bribe in May.
Durova is the most senior officer accused of such a crime since Latvia regained independence a decade ago, said Krists Lieskalns, spokesman for the state police.
The most recent spate of accusations started when four people - including Durova - were detained Nov. 19 under suspicion of accepting a bribe.
Lieskalns said the bribe was offered for help closing a criminal case relating to value added tax refunds in the postal sector that amounted to about 86,000 lats.
An economic police inspector, a former Interior Ministry's employee and a fourth person were also detained. All four have since been released from custody but are still under investigation.
The economic police are a division of the state police, both of which report to the Interior Ministry.
"We are going on an official inspection to hunt down graft after this event. It will take about a month" said Vita Norina, chief of the Interior Ministry's press office.
"The main thing going on right now is certification of all officers in the economic police."
Then the blows to other branches of government came in rapid succession Nov. 20.
Another high-ranking official was detained for bribery and two other officials were accused of smuggling.
Security police said Anda Busmane, head of the Environmental State Inspectorate, took a 1,200 lat bribe for completing routine duties although she was originally angling for 4,100 lats.
Environment Minister Vladimirs Makarovs said he would suspend Busmane from her post pending an investigation, adding she would be fired if found guilty.
Makarovs hailed the work of security police, "however sad it is for the ministry."
In a separate incident, a sanitary inspection chief from the Medumi border checkpoint and an employee of a regional health insurance institution were detained for suspicion of smuggling undeclared computer systems into the country.
The two men, who are brothers, were stopped by economic police and border guards, who found 17 undeclared computers without monitors in the private SAAB 9000 the pair were driving.
It has been an inauspicious year for Latvian officials.
So far 14 Interior Ministry's employees have been detained for bribery, along with 12 police officers and 2 border guards. Twelve of the detained have had charges pressed against them.
Latvia also ranks number 59 on Transparency International's corruption index - a lower score than all other European Union candidate countries except Romania.
(With BNS wire reports)
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