Senior Reporter
anna-lisa.paul@guardian.co.tt
Although six men were arrested and questioned in connection with last Saturday’s million-dollar arson attack at the TSTT compound in Laventille, police are yet to lay any charges against any of them.
In fact, several of the men have since been released, while a handful remained in police custody yesterday.
Senior Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) officials yesterday appealed to the public for information to assist in the ongoing investigation. They also warned they were prepared to prevent any retaliation.
At a media briefing at the Police Administration Building in Port-of-Spain, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Operations Suzette Martin, ASP Ashley Mungroo and acting ASP Salindra Singh pledged the service’s resources to ensure those responsible were held accountable.
“Our response did not end when the fire was extinguished. Our officers have continued working to identify those responsible, preserve evidence, protect critical infrastructure and maintain public safety,” Martin said.
Martin said coordinated operations were carried out in Beetham, Sea Lots and Laventille from 11 pm last Saturday into the early hours of Sunday. She and Singh confirmed that mobile and foot patrols continued daily.
“This has not been a one-night police response,” Martin said.
She said the deliberate destruction of State assets could affect public safety, economic activity, essential services and national security.
“The police service has been working closely with TSTT and its security partners to strengthen protective arrangements at the affected compound,” she said.
“Our focus includes preventing unlawful activity, safeguarding the remaining materials and supporting the security of the premises. Protecting critical infrastructure is not simply a security responsibility. It is a national responsibility.”
Martin said preliminary investigations suggested incendiary devices were used to ignite materials at the compound.
“Arson, violence, intimidation and the deliberate destruction of property will not be tolerated,” she said.
Martin said residents of Beetham Gardens, Sea Lots, Laventille and surrounding areas should not be blamed collectively for the incident.
“No individual or group has the right to place lives at risk, threaten essential services or create fear within our communities. We will not be intimidated, nor will we retreat from our responsibility to protect the people of T&T.”
She said most residents were hard-working, law-abiding citizens who wanted safe neighbourhoods and opportunities for their families, free from violence and intimidation.
Mungroo said police received information that Molotov cocktails were thrown into the TSTT compound from an area across the Priority Bus Route on the day of the fire. However, investigators were unable to find corroborating information or evidence to support the claim.
On the six men arrested, he said, “Certain information have been obtained by the police and we continue to pursue that information, as that in itself has not led us to the threshold where we are able to say, at this point, that we could pursue charges against anybody.”
He condemned the incident, describing it as an “unlawful, inconsiderate and detrimental act that may have led to catastrophic results.”
He said the actions had affected not only the perpetrators but entire communities.
“We will leave no stone unturned to get to the bottom of this. I give that undertaking today,” he said.
Singh said police efforts would continue and the TTPS is prepared to use all available means to preserve law and order and protect lives and property. He urged anyone with information to call 800-TIPS or 555. Tips can be provided anonymously.
Martin commended firefighters who worked in difficult and hazardous conditions to battle the blaze and prevent it from spreading to the nearby Angostura compound. She singled out Fire Officer Reece, who was injured while fighting the blaze and later treated for superficial burns to the face and smoke inhalation.
Northern Division Divisional Fire Officer Dexter Hodge later confirmed the officer has been discharged from hospital and was recovering at home.
Hodge said fire tenders from the Wrightson Road headquarters and the Belmont, Morvant, San Juan, Four Roads, Chaguaramas and Chaguanas stations responded to the blaze.
Firefighters arrived to find an area measuring about one acre alight, he said. Their plan focused on preventing the fire from spreading to the Angostura warehouse, which contained rum in wooden casks, stainless-steel tanks holding 99.9 per cent proof alcohol and a domed tank containing methane gas.
Hodge said preliminary information suggested the fire was deliberately set.
“It was considered highly improbable for a fire to have originated spontaneously within the lay-down yard due to the absence of an apparent ignition source in that area,” Hodge said.
He said investigations were continuing, but an initial assessment suggested “an external ignition source was introduced to initiate the fire.”
Hodge said the blaze caused TSTT more than $20 million in losses and put nearly $300 million in Angostura assets at risk. The consequences could have been more catastrophic, he said.
Asked about a power outage in Beetham Gardens that lasted almost 24 hours after the fire, leaving residents with spoiled food and preventing some from going to school or work, Hodge said the Fire Service was not responsible for the delay in restoring electricity.
He said firefighters had asked the Trinidad and Tobago Electricity Commission (T&TEC) to cut power because high-tension wires ran overhead through the lay-down yard, creating a danger to crews.
“We would have made the request to T&TEC to take the power off while we were doing the firefighting,” he said.
Hodge said T&TEC was responsible for repairing the overhead lines and restoring power. He could not say how long that would have taken.
