A high-ranking Trinidad and Tobago police official has been ordered onto immediate administrative leave as investigators unravel a shocking case that combines the brutal murder of a serving police officer, large-scale theft of law enforcement firearms, and alleged long-running corruption within the municipal police ranks.
Surrendra Sagramsingh, Municipal Assistant Commissioner of Police and head of the Trinidad and Tobago Municipal Police Service (TTMPS) for six years, confirmed to local outlet Express that he stepped down from his duties at the direction of government authorities. The administrative action comes as detectives intensify their probe into the killing of Anuska Eversley, a municipal police corporal, and the mass theft of weapons and ammunition from the San Fernando Municipal Police Station, where Eversley was stationed.
In an interview over the phone, Sagramsingh acknowledged that while being placed on leave during an active investigation is not standard procedure, he was complying fully with the directive. “If the authorities feel that is the best thing to do at the time, I am compliant,” he stated, adding that “this measure is for transparency during the investigation, and I accept that it goes with the territory of my position.”
The formal directive, dated April 21, 2026, was issued by acting permanent secretary Peter Mitchell on behalf of the Ministry of Rural Development and Local Government. The letter explicitly clarifies that the leave is a precautionary step to protect the investigation’s integrity, and does not represent a finding of misconduct or personal liability on Sagramsingh’s part. It directs him to remain available to investigators and cooperate fully with all lawful requests connected to the probe, a condition Sagramsingh says he accepts.
The case unfolded early on Sunday morning, when Eversley, a mother of three, was found dead inside the San Fernando station at 4:40 a.m. A subsequent autopsy revealed she had suffered a brutal attack: she was beaten, strangled, and stabbed to death. Immediately after the discovery of Eversley’s body, authorities confirmed that a large cache of firearms and ammunition stored in the station’s charge room had been stolen.
Senior investigative sources speaking to Express have outlined a sprawling, months-long criminal conspiracy at the heart of the case. Preliminary probe findings indicate a ring of corrupt municipal police officers has been diverting station-held weapons and selling them to criminal organizations for between six and eight months prior to Eversley’s death. The ongoing scheme has sparked urgent questions about how the illegal activity went undetected by command staff for so long.
Sources also told reporters that investigators believe Eversley was a participating member of the smuggling ring. They allege she regularly brought unauthorized men into the station, facilitated the transport of drugs and stolen weapons using official police vehicles, and provided armed escort for gang members carrying out criminal operations. According to investigative accounts, Eversley and a primary suspect had been stealing small batches of firearms and ammunition from the charge room for months, selling the weapons and splitting the illicit profits.
The fatal confrontation that led to her murder reportedly stemmed from a dispute over the scope of the theft: Eversley favored continuing the slow, small-scale diversion of weapons to avoid detection, while the suspect pushed to steal the entire cache of stored weapons in one raid. On the Saturday night before her body was found, Eversley was on duty at the station. Investigators say she sent the two other on-duty officers upstairs to sleep, telling them she would handle securing the charge room alone.
Witness and intelligence accounts indicate an unknown man arrived at the station later that night to meet Eversley, and the pair engaged in sexual activity. When Eversley’s body was discovered the next morning, she was found partially clothed. After killing Eversley, the suspect signaled to two other men waiting in a silver vehicle parked outside the station. The group then removed the entire stolen cache of weapons from the station property. Sources identify the prime suspect as a drug addict who they believe masterminded the final mass heist.
As of press time, police have detained 10 people connected to the case, and recovery efforts for the stolen weapons are underway. A major breakthrough came yesterday, when the Highway Patrol South Operations Team stopped a white Kia K2700 pickup truck carrying three male suspects. During the stop, officers recovered 13 firearms, 12 magazines, 288 rounds of 9mm ammunition, and 10 12-gauge cartridges, all confirmed to be from the Sunday theft. To date, a total of 43 firearms and more than 900 rounds of mixed ammunition have been recovered.
Investigators add that they already have intelligence on the location of remaining stolen weapons, and expect to apprehend additional suspects who aided and abetted the criminal ring. The case has also revealed allegations that corrupt officers have falsified official station records to cover up the gradual theft of weapons over the past year.
Only days before he was placed on leave, Sagramsingh stood alongside Police Commissioner Allister Guevarro and Minister of Homeland Security Roger Alexander at an official press conference in San Fernando addressing the incident. When contacted by Express for comment on Sagramsingh’s placement on leave, Minister Khadijah Ameen of the Ministry of Rural Development and Local Government confirmed her department’s acting permanent secretary had issued the directive, but declined to provide further details, citing the active ongoing investigation. Police Commissioner Guevarro also did not respond to requests for comment by press time.