A sweeping security overhaul is underway in Trinidad and Tobago after a shocking incident of law enforcement-linked gun trafficking left an acting municipal police corporal dead and exposed months of illegal weapons diversion to criminal networks. All firearms held at local government municipal stations across the country are being moved to the custody of the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS), following a formal recommendation from Police Commissioner Allister Guevarro that has been immediately approved by senior government officials.
The urgent policy shift was triggered by the murder of Acting Corporal Anuska Eversley at the San Fernando Municipal Police Station, which occurred last Sunday alongside the theft of a large cache of firearms and ammunition from the facility. What initially appeared to be an isolated violent robbery quickly unraveled into a far-reaching scandal, revealing that guns had been systematically stolen from the municipal station for months and sold on the black market to underworld criminal groups. Investigators have also uncovered evidence that municipal police officers falsified official station records to cover up the missing weapons, and Eversley herself is reported to be a key figure in the illegal racket, with investigators eyeing a fellow municipal officer as the primary suspect in her killing.
In a formal letter dated April 22, 2026, addressed to Minister of Rural and Local Government Khadijah Ameen, Guevarro outlined that preliminary reviews had uncovered widespread administrative irregularities in the Firearm User’s Licences issued to municipal corporations under the Ministry of Local Government. To address these gaps and bring all weapons holdings into compliance with national firearms legislation, Guevarro proposed the immediate transfer of all licensed municipal firearms to secure storage at designated police stations within their respective jurisdictions, following coordination with local division senior superintendents.
Under the new temporary arrangement, municipal officers will still be able to access assigned firearms for official duty directly from the police stations where they are stored. This structure preserves full operational capacity for municipal policing while implementing strict, accountable custody controls that were missing under the previous system. The transfer order will remain in effect until a full national audit and verification of all municipal firearms and ammunition is completed, and all relevant Firearm User’s Licences are brought into full regulatory compliance. Guevarro requested Ameen’s intervention to disseminate the order through her permanent secretary to all department heads with oversight of municipal weapons holdings.
Ameen, who also serves as Member of Parliament for St Augustine, confirmed in an interview with the Express that she accepted the recommendation immediately, issuing a direct directive to all chief executive officers of city, borough and regional corporations to comply with the transfer order without delay. She noted that the TTPS will partner with local government bodies to ensure full compliance across all jurisdictions. The existing allocation process for municipal firearms already requires the assistant commissioner overseeing municipal policing to submit formal requisitions for weapons and ammunition to the Police Commissioner, who then authorizes purchases — a process that will now be reviewed alongside broader regulatory reforms.
Speaking at a press conference on Monday, Guevarro announced that a full audit of firearms holdings at the San Fernando Municipal Corporation would be the first step, with permanent policy changes to follow once the scope of the irregularities is fully mapped. On Wednesday, Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar publicly addressed the scandal, confirming that the illegal gun racket had been operating undetected for roughly eight months before Eversley’s murder exposed the network. The investigation into Eversley’s killing and the broader gun trafficking ring remains ongoing, with law enforcement continuing to interview suspects and review municipal records to identify all involved parties.