Nearly a week after a deadly attack on the San Fernando Municipal Police Station left an acting officer dead and over 100 firearms stolen, investigators tracking the missing weapons have received verified intelligence showing that several stolen Glock pistols have already been sold to criminal networks for as much as $10,000 per unit.
Multiple law enforcement sources familiar with the ongoing probe have confirmed to local media that a Central Trinidad-based businessman, now considered a key person of interest, has fled to avoid arrest. Authorities allege the businessman organized the offloading of multiple stolen firearms and rounds of ammunition to two separate criminal kingpins in the last two days – one based in San Fernando, and another operating out of the Enterprise community.
The getaway vehicle used to move the stolen weaponry out of the Claxton Bay region was identified as a Kia sedan registered to the fugitive businessman, which remains unaccounted for as of investigators’ latest update.
Despite the setback of the missing suspect and vehicle, the investigation has recorded small wins: several persons already detained in connection with the heist have begun cooperating with authorities, providing new details that could help law enforcement recover the remaining missing stockpile.
Investigators add the businessman has long been linked to organized criminal groups, and they are confident he was directly involved in smuggling the stolen weapons out of the police station’s secure armory.
So far, authorities have recovered 43 of the stolen firearms. Twenty-two of those were found buried in a shallow pit at the Forres Park landfill, while the second cache of 21 guns and additional ammunition was seized during a routine highway stop near the Claxton Bay flyover on Tuesday. The stop led to the arrest of three men and the seizure of their vehicle, a white Kia K2700.
A breakdown of the recovered weapons shows the first search yielded 10 Glock pistols, 10 M&P pistols, one Browning pistol, one Smith & Wesson pistol, and 612 rounds of 9mm ammunition. The second seizure added 14 more Glock pistols, a Benelli shotgun, one Sig MPX submachine gun, and an additional 288 rounds of 9mm ammunition to the recovered stock.
Initial estimates immediately after the attack put the number of stolen firearms at 62, taken from the station’s secure strongroom. However, Assistant Commissioner of Police Surrendra Sagramsingh, head of the Trinidad and Tobago Municipal Police Service, later issued a correction updating the total number of missing weapons to more than 100, meaning the majority of the stolen firearms remain unaccounted for.