A major leadership transition is unfolding at the top of the Trinidad and Tobago Municipal Police Service (TTMPS), coming on the heels of a shocking on-duty murder and unfolding allegations of widespread illegal weapons diversion linked to serving officers. Senior police and government sources confirm that current Assistant Commissioner of Police Wayne Mystar has been tapped to replace outgoing TTMPS head Surrendra Sagramsingh, who was placed on immediate administrative leave earlier this week to facilitate the ongoing investigation.
As of Thursday evening, however, Mystar had not yet received formal written documentation of his appointment, multiple sources close to the process confirmed to local media. Discussions to finalize the leadership change have already been concluded at the highest levels of both the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service and the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, with Mystar the unanimous pick to take over the troubled municipal force.
Sagramsingh, who has led the TTMPS for the past six years, publicly confirmed this week that he had been placed on leave. In a phone interview with the Express, he acknowledged the administrative action, noting that the decision was framed as a necessary step to preserve the impartiality and transparency of the ongoing probe into the murder of 33-year-old corporal Anuska Eversley and the theft of government firearms and ammunition from the San Fernando Municipal Police Station.
“Because of the investigation ongoing; and they wouldn’t want you to be around performing duty; and to ensure transparency in case they see a connection,” Sagramsingh explained of the official rationale. The long-serving officer added that while he would have preferred to remain on active duty, he has fully complied with the government’s directive. “The fact is I am in my career as a police officer (and) have been bent on service. So, definitely you would have preferred to have served. But if the authorities feel that is the best thing to do at the time, I am compliant,” he said.
The formal administrative order placing Sagramsingh on leave is laid out in an April 21, 2026 letter from acting permanent secretary Peter Mitchell. The letter clarifies that the leave is a precautionary procedural measure, not a finding of wrongdoing or liability on Sagramsingh’s part. He has been ordered not to report for duty or exercise any of his former official powers until further notice, but is required to remain accessible to investigators and fully cooperate with all inquiries.
The crisis rocking the TTMPS began early Sunday morning, when Eversley — a mother of three — was found dead inside the San Fernando Municipal Police Station at approximately 4:40 a.m. A post-mortem examination conducted this week confirmed the 33-year-old officer suffered blunt force trauma before being strangled and stabbed to death. To date, police have taken 10 people into custody for questioning in connection with Eversley’s killing.
Preliminary findings from the ongoing investigation have uncovered disturbing ties between the murder and a wider alleged criminal ring operating within the municipal police force. Senior investigative sources told the Express that early probes point to a group of serving municipal officers who have allegedly been stealing police firearms and ammunition and selling the weapons to criminal gangs and underworld networks. Sources say the illegal trafficking operation is believed to have been active for between six and eight months, raising urgent questions about systemic oversight failures within the TTMPS that allowed the alleged scheme to continue undetected for months.