- Last update:15 hours 8 min ago
‘Contraband’ hidden in police station ceiling
Fifteen officers assigned to the St Joseph CID are facing immediate transfer after seven guns, ammunition and drugs were reportedly found hidden in a ceiling and the dormitory area at the St Joseph Police Station, yesterday. A high-scale probe has been launched into the incident by Acting Police Commissioner, James Philbert, sources said.
Around 10 am yesterday, Ag Supt John Martinez and a team of officers from the Criminal Intelligence Unit (CIU) went to the station where they conducted several searches.The station remained under lock down for several hours as officers searched the building. Several officers have been questioned by Intelligence officers in connection with the find.
It is reported the guns, an undisclosed quantity of ammunition, cocaine and marijuana were found in the ceiling, at an office assigned to the sergeant in charge of the CID. However, sources said there was no sergeant assigned to the CID office. It is also alleged some of the contraband was found in a dormitory area occupied by CID officers. When contacted, head of the Northern Division Snr Supt Rajendranath Maharaj said Acting Police Commissioner, James Philbert was dealing with the incident. He referred all queries to Philbert. Maharaj was said to be present during the search. However, attempts to contact Philbert up to late last evening proved futile. Officers at the St Joseph Police Station have remained tight-lipped about the incident but confirmed the premises was searched.
According to Cable News Channel Three news (CNC3), Commissioner Philbert confirmed the incident and said for some time there have been irregularities at the station. It is reported the items were not exhibited in court cases since an inventory at the property room revealed nothing was missing. Philbert said the investigations into the recovery of the illegal items was ongoing and that the items did not belong to the Police Service. There are 14 constables and one corporal assigned to the CID office.
Immediate Transfer? .....
Immediate Transfer?
..... to where? .... Jail or another station?
Now we see martin and CoP
Now we see martin and CoP master plan, looking good. Mike don’t be worried, Tobago Safe!
To another station off
To another station off course - that is the maximum punishment police usually receive for criminal activities.
Good Question!!
Good Question!!
The whole thing could well
The whole thing could well be a political stunt, to whip up support amongst ah dohtish electorate. People in Trickidad eh play dey chupid nah.
Ah could be wrong but at dee moment my gut feeling is dat somebody orchestrate dee whole incident - to make dee ruling regime look good. Yuh know - so dat chupit people go feel dat dee regime really winning dee battle on corrupt cops.
Dey will tell chupid people an official version that 'transfer' is the usual process. Well no - yuh don't transfer nobody when dey get caught in circumstances like dat.
Mr Philbert - I go now tell you how to do your job! You suspend every manjack left, right and centre. You place dem under 24 hour surveillance - and you investigate them with a view to prosecution. [Or some sequence of activities similar to that].
Transfer? Look - doh make meh cuss here nah. Allyuh fellas dong dey need to stop playing mind-games. I's not dolly-house allyuh playin' - is a country yuh runnin'.
Huh? - But I thought the
Huh? - But I thought the Rats was eating and taking the evidence?? That was such a realistic statement. Maybe now the rats have turned to crime and stored the drugs and guns in the ceiling!!! So you are now transferring the cops for nothing...
Transfer???????? I guess in
Transfer???????? I guess in Trinidad police officers under investigation are rotated to continue their alleged activities elsewhere. What ever happened to administrative leave pending investigation.
Eh heh? Not even ah
Eh heh? Not even ah suspension self? Is dis why dey wanted to keep Philbert on?
Jumbie's Watch
Yes Jumbie, gih dem
Yes Jumbie, gih dem presshaaaah!!
It’s really sad, when some
It’s really sad, when some officers are praise for doing a good job, the careless, carefree ones, give the force the bad name, The TTPS need an independent Internal Affairs Unit not made up of local police, to investigate the life style of all officers, look into they spending and if it fits they income. In other force world wide those officers would be suspended until the completion of the investigation and if and when the guilty one are found, jailed make an example of them.
'Immediate Transfer' for 15
'Immediate Transfer' for 15 of our FINEST-
We are getting the impression that this incident is just another day in the life of some of our 'finest'. We are confident that the criminals in the general public are running the affairs of the country, with our gov't officials lagging behind trying to play catch-up. We do not have concrete evidence to prove that some of our officials in the Protective Services are equally involved in crime as the gangs roaming our towns and villages, but we know they are occupying some of the top positions in the underworld. This loot found in the 'attic' is perhaps just a small stash of what they possess and use to terrorise us. How in heaven's name can we expect to live in safety and security when the very persons who took Oaths to SERVE AND PROTECT us are like fox in the henhouse. The initial investigation should give you, Mr. Philbert, sufficient information to 'suspend without pay' some of these officers. Transfering them is only shifting the problem to other unsuspecting communities. You low-life police officers, you bring disgrace to the majority of our hard working professional officers who give their very best and put their lives in danger every working day to Serve and Protect us, with you scums looking over their shoulders. Mr. Philbett you know what you must do, and do not allow anyone, not even the P.M. to get in your way. Shame, shame ...
Idiots! Instead of leaving
Idiots! Instead of leaving the contraband there and setting up surveillance to see who goes to it?
What the hell?
No wonder crime is rampant in T&T!
THAT'S THE WAY IT'S BEEN for
THAT'S THE WAY IT'S BEEN for a long long time.martin joseph yuh feel like an idoit now?? let's pay some chinnee workers to come up with a plan while we trin suffer.it will only cost 2 billion.we can aford it,ask karen.
'Human rats' or party
'Human rats' or party animals?
Who put it there and when and for what purpose? Cleary, you dunderhead bloggers, it was the human rats that a now retired judge mentioned. All allyou just like bachannal!!!
ajfyzabadbutlertown
Who guarding the guards.
Who guarding the guards. These criminals are who we look to for protection, please. This is the reason your murders are so high TnT, corrupt cops.
No its not just corrupt cops
No its not just corrupt cops we have a population deeply involved in drug trafficing in south trinidad many of whom pretend to be "fishermen" or "businessmen" like Dole Chaddie.
http://guardian.co.tt/news/cr
http://guardian.co.tt/news/crime/2009/07/13/cops-believe-shot-called-pri...
http://guardian.co.tt/news/cr
http://guardian.co.tt/news/crime/2009/06/25/woman-shot-dead-police-stati...
Rats! They put the stuff
Rats! They put the stuff there to set up the hard working police. Who are we to really trust when we have info on criminal activity ?
Kids know who the drug pushers are. Everyone knows who control the blocks but are afraid. So crime flourishes and becomes a lucrative industry.
Martin Joseph Sir, where are
Martin Joseph Sir, where are you now? see what has been going on right under your nose for so long and you could not see.
I hope you are taking a very close look. Its time for you to say 'bye bye' but before you go, you need to appologize to the citizens for not doing your job and receiving high salary....
Well why not Transfer them
Well why not Transfer them to Princes Town. Now that is the ultimate punishment
When the police having
When the police having roadblocks it is so well orchestrated,that not even some of the officers involved know what mission they will be on that day.And for what? to make motorists peel off tints on the glasses of the vehicles.It is normally difficult for a motorist to get away, reverse or take a detour.
Guns and ammunition are found in the ceiling of one station, errant officers from other districts put on notice would now escape any dragnet.
Are we to believe that it is only the St Joseph police station which is involved in this lawlessness? A crackdown should have been effected so that every station was throughly searched the very next day.
This is just a hypothetical
This is just a hypothetical scenario, but in Trinidad and Tobago, anything goes.
Suppose the CID Officers in St.Joseph were doing their jobs so efficiently, and cracking down, or getting close to shutting down the criminal operations of some well connected criminals in their jurisdiction.
The CID offices of most Police stations are never locked. Now suppose these well connected criminals supplied a rogue officer, or even the station cleaner, with the guns and drugs to hide in the ceiling of that office; the intent being to cast suspicion on all the detectives in that station, and have them transferred back into uniform, or doing desk duty at stations in Matelot and Toco.
This one reeks of a well orchestrated "setup" if I ever saw one. Detectives in Trinidad are not stupid, as many of you all believe.
Sometimes, before we adopt this American type of lynch mob mentatlity, and wish punishment on people, we need to know the facts. Perhaps an investigation may, or may not, disclose how those guns and drugs got there, or for what purpose they were intended. I for one will not have a problem, if the officers had these guns there to put in the hands of known violent criminals, when the police kill them, instead of subjecting the country to a 7 year wait for a trial.
So - you fire the officer
So - you fire the officer who was disrespectful to Mr. Manning, but you transfer these lawbreakers. What demented thinking!
Smithee
..........to another station
..........to another station where they will be eventually promoted. you see, we have no quality material for policemen, so we have to keep what we have, and reward them in the belief they will improve.
we cannot surveil the station, the cameras will be stolen from under their noses, quite possibly by cops, another waste of funds.
this is not a setup, we dont need all nine guns, ammo, and drugs to do that.
this will make a dent in an entrepreneurial officer(s) side business, the rentals, the sales, possibly the protection, racket.
there is one more cop who has to be "promoted", the one who didnt get enough of the action, and squealed.
but anyway, the uniforms are nice and crisp.
Well, well, well, the
Well, well, well, the nunbskull, nincompoop, Mike Samuel, is blaming the "fishermen" and "businessmen" like Dole Chadee from South. Mike, this clearly shows that you are not from Trinidad, but you are indeed a 'small islander". First of all Dole Chadee is dead, and the St Joseph Police Station is not in the South. Next time to come to Trinidad, I will come to the POS wharf and bring you a map of Trinidad. Mikey, here's some advice stick to loading Bananas and keep out of Trinidad's affairs.
I read with delight all the
I read with delight all the comments written so far!! The best was by Gershwin!!! Where are the brains behind all these investigations?Do we really have a COP with some intelligence?A sting operation should have been instituted & all perpetrators caught!! But then again,with all the corrupt officers,it'd have proven futile-it would have been a sham! The worst comment was written by a mentally handicapped Mike Samuel who seems to have a beef to settle with one sector of T&T population!!!
from the story "Robberies at
from the story "Robberies at top of barataria crime list" there is the following quote
“Offenders generally operated in pairs, and most of them were males of African descent”.
true to form, mike did not comment.
he could not make a unc or south connection. lol.
Mikey getting tired now, he
Mikey getting tired now, he not lamblasting Indians anymore or Panday or the Guardian board, He even talking in common letters now, thats an improvement all round. I agree with all comments, one about the policeman who was fired re the Manning affair but here we have a police station with drugs and guns hidden and we transferred the policemen, Someone said the Trini is chupid, right, They tink we chupid but they know it will all blow over in a few days after the Guardian pulls the story, then we wait 5 years for a court case and what happened, and we move on to the next commess. An internal Affairs Div - one said is a great idea, lets go for that, send those policemen to Guaya, Toco, Icacos on bike duties. I like Germania's stance on this and Jumbie give them pressah! yes. interesting stuff to read how my TT has degraded. And Dole is dead! so we cant blame him, if he was alive and in crime none of this would be happening.