Finance Minister Colm Imbert has revealed that four new mobile scanners will be operational at the ports of Port-of-Spain and Point Lisas by the end of November. The new mobile scanners were originally scheduled to arrive in August, but the Finance Ministry had to seek legal intervention regarding the scanners’ delivery.
Officials have stated that scanners will aid in curbing the entry of illicit items into the country.
Currently, scans for illegal cargo at the sea ports are being carried out by fixed scanners.
Yesterday during a session of the Standing Finance Committee of Parliament, Imbert explained the delay.
“The scanners have been manufactured and are scheduled to be fully operational by next month. These are the four mobile scanners at the Ports of Port-of-Spain and Pt Lisas. Two will arrive in October and two in November. The expenditure in 2025 is to complete payments on that contract and for the purchase of two pallet scanners and two van scanners. These are smaller scanners, that will be used at smaller ports, outside of Port-of-Spain and Pt Lisas.
“My understanding is that there is a maintenance element included in the contract,” the Finance Minister said.
According to Imbert, the Finance Ministry engaged legal counsel after the manufacturer failed to meet the original, August, delivery deadline. He said after receiving notice, the company sped up work and agreed to deliver and operationalise the scanners by the previously agreed-upon date of late November.
When asked by Opposition MP for Oropouche West Dave Tancoo if the Finance Ministry covered the legal fees, Imbert replied, “You’ve given me ideas of recovery of legal fees and I will most certainly discuss that with council.”
The related legal costs were not revealed during the discussion.
In August 2022, former Acting Comptroller of the Customs and Excise Division Viday Marcial revealed that the ports’ scanners were obsolete.
“Those scanners were a donation from the United States government. The mobile scanners are not functioning. The fixed scanner in Port-of-Spain is functioning.
“I sent out a request to the Permanent Secretary (PS) and Ministry of Finance. But remember, we don’t have people in Trinidad who can provide that, so it has to be outsourced, and that will be a little tricky because they have to get all the specs,” Marcial said in 2022.
Two separate senior customs sources, who spoke anonymously at the time, confirmed that the Port of Port-of-Spain only had access to one fixed scanner, while the mobile scanners and fixed scanner at the Point Lisas Port were not operational.
The sources said that with the constant and efficient use of scanners, officers could easily distinguish between different commodities in a container. As an example, they said the scanners would be able to identify a bicycle in a 40-foot container.
In its absence, it makes it significantly easier for illegal weapons and contraband to pass unnoticed in containers.
Last July, it was revealed that the pallet scanner at the Port of Port-of-Spain was non-operational.