An unexpected discovery of eight unaccounted-for firearms inside a locked office at Trinidad and Tobago’s Belmont Police Station has launched a formal internal investigation into how the weapons ended up in the unused space, according to senior law enforcement officials.
Assistant Commissioner of Police Richard Smith shared details of the find with local outlet *Express*, confirming that investigators believe the recovered weapons are court exhibits connected to active criminal cases. The office where the firearms were located had a complicated history: it was originally used as an on-site gym for officers before being repurposed into storage and office space, and had remained locked for an extended period with no station personnel holding a working key.
After an inquiry flagged the unaccessed room, investigators tracked down a key from a department inspector to gain entry, ultimately uncovering the eight firearms. Smith confirmed the investigation is now focused on tracing the origins of the weapons, identifying the complainants tied to the cases linked to the exhibits, and clarifying why the firearms were never properly logged and stored with the service’s official property keeper.
The discovery also prompted widespread social media speculation about potential misconduct by officers, with multiple unconfirmed reports claiming a police sergeant had been taken into custody, that officers’ private residences had been searched, and that the implicated sergeant had fled the country. Smith has formally debunked all of these claims, noting that the officer referenced in the rumors is not a sergeant, and had pre-approved vacation leave and official permission from the Police Commissioner to travel outside of Trinidad and Tobago long before the search of the office was conducted. No officers are currently in custody as suspects, he added.
Unnamed sources close to the investigation told *Express* that seven officers were brought in for questioning following the discovery of the firearms, but all have since been released pending further progress in the probe. Once the weapons were found, the Police Service’s Professional Standards Bureau (PSB) — the internal unit responsible for investigating alleged criminal activity and disciplinary breaches by officers — was notified immediately and dispatched a team to the Belmont station.
During the investigation, the Port of Spain PSB unit executed a search of relevant office spaces for potential evidence, looking for a range of prohibited or unrecorded items including unregistered cash, narcotics, additional unreported arms and ammunition. Senior investigative sources explained that the core ongoing work is centered on confirming the provenance of the eight firearms: teams are working to determine whether they are exhibits from active court cases that were never formally lodged with the property department, or leftover evidence from closed cases that was never properly processed and turned over for storage.
Smith emphasized that the probe remains open and transparent, and that if any evidence of rule-breaking or regulatory breaches by police personnel is uncovered, the department will take appropriate disciplinary or legal action without exception. “If by any stretch anything is found which goes against our regulations, then we will deal with it accordingly,” he stated.