A formal misconduct investigation is underway targeting three members of the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS), following allegations that $250,000 in cash went missing during a search of a scrap iron dealer’s Claxton Bay property in late June. The case has sparked accusations of police abuse of power amid the country’s current state of emergency, with the dealer’s attorney arguing the allegations expose serious misconduct by law enforcement.
Akini Joseph, a scrap metal dealer widely known by the alias “Mundo,” was not at his residence when officers from the Marabella Police Station arrived on the evening of June 27. The officers stated their mission was to locate stolen brass on the property, and when Joseph was contacted mid-search by a concerned relative, he instructed his family to grant the search team full access to the compound, attorney Subhas Panday, who represents Joseph, confirmed to local outlet Express in a recent interview.
According to Panday’s account of the search, the operation took an unexpected turn when officers probing a bedroom ceiling dislodged a five-dollar banknote. The lead corporal on the scene then ordered a constable to retrieve a ladder to access the attic space, where the team discovered a hidden box containing stacks of cash totaling $250,000. From that point, the cash was never recorded as evidence or returned to Joseph: the search team told Joseph’s family they had found no illegal materials on the property before concluding the operation.
Independent police sources have confirmed that closed-circuit security footage from the property, a portion of which has been viewed by Express, captures one of the responding officers exiting the home and concealing an amount of cash in his uniform pockets. Investigators have also obtained additional corroborating details about the officers’ activities on the compound during the search.
When Joseph returned home from the cricket match he was attending, a relative immediately alerted him that the search team had seized his hidden cash. When Joseph confronted the officers and demanded the money’s return, while stating his intention to contact legal representation, he was taken into police custody on allegations of making threats against officers, Panday explained. Joseph remained detained at the local police station for four days before he was formally questioned about the alleged stolen brass on July 1 — it was during this interrogation that Joseph first formally brought up the missing $250,000 to the lead corporal, according to his attorney.
On July 6, Homeland Security Minister Roger Alexander signed a Preventive Detention Order (PDO) against Joseph, citing intelligence reports that place the dealer as a member of an informal organized crime group. The order links Joseph’s scrap business to the illegal disposal of stolen property, claims he threatened responding officers during the June 27 search, and alleges he is in illegal possession of firearms. Authorities further assert that intelligence indicates Joseph’s criminal network was planning to expand its illegal operations, including carrying out more frequent attacks on commercial properties across the region.
Panday has since filed a formal application to challenge the PDO before the independent Review Tribunal, and as of the latest update, is still waiting for a hearing date to be scheduled. The attorney has issued a sharp rebuke of law enforcement actions in the case, arguing that officers are exploiting the existing state of emergency to enter the homes of private citizens without required search warrants and target innocent people.
“They are abusing the state of emergency and going into innocent people’s homes without search warrants. Authorities must take steps to prevent this kind of behaviour, they are taking advantage of innocent people,” Panday told Express.
The Professional Standards Bureau (PSB), the TTPS internal body mandated to investigate officer misconduct, corruption, and abuse of authority, is leading the probe into the three officers — one corporal and two constables. The official complaint against the officers was filed by Joseph’s relatives just hours after the search concluded, a timeline confirmed by Panday.