A jury has returned guilty convictions for two Trinidadian men on a suite of weapons and drug trafficking charges, closing a years-long legal case that stemmed from a high-stakes 2018 police intercept.
Trevor Geeban, a resident of Maraval, and Kadeem Weekes, from Port of Spain’s East Dry River neighborhood, faced four separate criminal charges: possession of a prohibited hand grenade, unlawful firearm possession, illegal ammunition possession, and possession of marijuana with intent to traffic. Following just 45 minutes of closed deliberation, the nine-member jury unanimously upheld all charges against both men.
The case traces back to a late-night police inquiry on August 18, 2018, at the Tulsa Trace Picnic Site. When officers arrived at the location in a marked patrol vehicle, they encountered two parked vehicles: a grey Hyundai Tucson and a white Nissan Tiida. The Tiida immediately fled the scene in the opposite direction, while three people — Geeban, Weekes, and an unidentified third man — exited the Tucson and fled toward a nearby river. Law enforcement officials confirmed Geeban was driving the Tucson, with Weekes riding in the front passenger seat. The third suspect, who was seated in the back, managed to escape custody by swimming across the river and remains at large.
Officers pursued Geeban and Weekes on foot, apprehending both men at the river’s edge before returning them to the Tucson for a search. The vehicle search yielded a large cache of illegal contraband: 10 separate packets of marijuana totaling approximately five kilograms, two loaded firearms with nine rounds already chambered, loose storage boxes holding an additional 1,450 rounds of ammunition, and one high-explosive hand grenade.
Per prosecution arguments presented by the prosecution team led by Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions Dylan Martin, Geeban attempted to deflect responsibility immediately after the seizure, telling officers “I was just driving, the man bring that and put that in the van.” Weekes similarly claimed ignorance, stating he only saw the other men bring a bag and a bucket into the vehicle but had no knowledge of their contents. During trial proceedings, Geeban denied ever making the claimed statement to police.
The prosecution called multiple expert witnesses to corroborate its case, including a bomb disposal specialist from the Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force who formally confirmed the seized explosive was a functional high-explosive hand grenade. When taking the stand in his own defense, Geeban claimed he had been invited to a casual riverside gathering and was picking up trash when officers arrived. However, under rigorous cross-examination, he was unable to provide basic key details about the supposed gathering or the friend who had allegedly invited him. Weekes chose not to testify in his own defense.
Following the jury’s guilty verdict, both men were immediately remanded into state prison custody to await sentencing. A formal sentencing hearing has been scheduled for June 15. Josiah Soo Hon and Khi Cambridge served as additional prosecuting counsel alongside Martin for the state.