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In a groundbreaking moment that has raised hopes for lasting change across violence-battered communities in Trinidad and Tobago, two former adversaries from long-feuding gangs in Laventille have set aside their differences to launch a public push for peace. Senior government officials say this unprecedented reconciliation could open the door to a much-needed new chapter for regions that have been trapped in cycles of gang warfare for years.

Twenty-four-year-old Kashif “K-Man” Sankar and 29-year-old Mescach “Plumpy Boss” Emmanuel made their joint public debut at a back-to-school outreach event hosted on Wednesday at Homeland Security Minister Roger Alexander’s Tunapuna constituency office. Standing side-by-side, the pair formally called for an end to inter-gang violence and urged young people across the country to walk away from the dangerous street lifestyles that have devastated generations of local communities.

Their high-profile appearance came as Alexander and Justice Minister Devesh Maharaj extended a call to residents across Laventille, Beetham Gardens, Sea Lots, Morvant, Tunapuna and surrounding neighborhoods to seize this rare opening to build lasting peace. Speaking at the event, Alexander emphasized that just a few years prior, seeing the two former rivals share a stage would have been unthinkable.

“A couple of years ago, there was open warfare, even in the local music space, but they are sitting here today, on the same platform, united by the same vision,” Alexander told attendees. “Let’s bring an end to this senseless war that has plagued Laventille, Sea Lots, Beetham, Maloney, Tunapuna, and communities across the country.”

Alexander went on to outline the devastating human cost of years of gang violence, noting that communities have lost far too many young lives to gun violence, while countless young people have been robbed of access to education, employment and opportunity. Children growing up in these regions have been repeatedly forced to take cover from crossfire, growing up in a constant state of fear, he added.

The minister confirmed that the government stands ready to back grassroots efforts to build safer communities, but stressed that sustainable change depends on local residents demonstrating their commitment to making peace a permanent reality. “This is the beginning of an opportunity for a second chance for these communities, to build a new legacy that puts violence in the past,” he said.

Alexander first was approached about the peace initiative nearly two months ago by community organizers working directly in affected neighborhoods, and he committed to official government support on the condition that the push to end conflict was genuine. If successful, he noted, the peace deal could restore a sense of normalcy to communities where residents have grown accustomed to constant fear and social isolation.

“We want gas trucks to be able to safely return to Laventille Hill and Beetham Gardens. We want taxis to resume routes through these neighborhoods, and we want local small business owners to be able to sell their goods to neighborhood parlours without risk,” Alexander said. “Businesses need to operate freely, and residents deserve to regain the ability to move through their own communities without looking over their shoulder.”

Sankar, who has built a large following among young Trinidadians through his music, used the public platform to deliver an unflinching warning to young people considering a life of gang involvement. “The life of crime only holds two outcomes: poverty and death,” he said. “The street life gives you nothing worth having. When you get older, you want a family, a nice car, a comfortable home – you’ll never get any of that if you tie yourself to a life of crime.”

Sankar added that public support for the peace push has grown rapidly across affected communities, as residents have grown exhausted by decades of unending violence. Sankar is no stranger to the violence he now condemns: he previously faced gang-related charges under Trinidad and Tobago’s Anti-Gang Act in 2024, following a police investigation into social media videos. In 2023, he survived a brazen daylight ambush on the Churchill-Roosevelt Highway in St Augustine, shortly after his entourage left Piarco International Airport. Four people were killed in the attack, including three members of his entourage and an innocent bystander.

Emmanuel has a similar background: he was shot and injured in a 2024 attack in St Maarten, while traveling with his own entourage. According to police reports, Emmanuel had just finished performing at a concert in the Maho area and was leaving in a black minivan when a group of armed men opened fire on the vehicle. Five people, including a woman, were injured in the shooting. At the time of the attack, Emmanuel was out on bail after being charged with gang membership and drug trafficking.

Following their joint appearance at the back-to-school drive, the pair was scheduled to perform together for the first time Wednesday night at the Summer Stage event at Queen’s Park Savannah in Port of Spain, where Emmanuel plans to deliver his full official statement on the peace initiative. Sankar added that the pair has already recorded new, positive-focused music set for release in the coming weeks, centered on their message of unity.

Alexander said early signs of the peace deal’s impact are already encouraging, with reports that residents have already begun visiting areas they long avoided, and attending cross-community social gatherings for the first time in years. “If this peace lasts forever, we will stand with it forever. If we have a setback, we will de-escalate and start the journey over again – what matters is that we hold our communities together through this transition,” he said.

With so many lives already lost to senseless gang warfare, Alexander issued a direct challenge to local residents to work together to ensure this new moment of peace is sustained for the next generation.

Across the encrypted messaging platform Telegram, a sprawling network of hidden underground chat groups has emerged as a dangerous hub for the trade of child sexual abuse material, non-consensual explicit content of local women and children, and coordinated stalking and harassment – and despite years of victim reports, court orders, and promised law enforcement action, the abuse continues to spread unabated.

In interactions documented over three months of independent investigation by the *Sunday Express*, a user going by the alias “David” entered one such group, self-named “Trini-bad”, to peddle his personal archive of exploitative content targeting pre-teen children. David urged members to contact him privately to access graphic images and videos showing young children being sexually exploited, even boasting “I got good stuff” alongside a screenshot of his extensive cache of abusive media. In line with the trading culture that defines these groups, David offered to share 100 images of child rape in exchange for 100 additional abusive files from other users, and refused to move his illegal activity to any other platform, citing the relative anonymity and lax enforcement Telegram provides.

Trini-bad, which currently counts more than 400 members, is just one small node in a far larger network. Some of the largest groups in this ecosystem amass tens of thousands of members, and entry is not open to just anyone: aspiring participants must pay hundreds to thousands of Trinidadian dollars for access, with some operators selling tiered weekly, monthly, and quarterly membership packages. One group administrator quoted in the investigation charges $250 Trinidadian for weekly access to a single specialized group, $750 for monthly access, and $2,400 for a three-month package that grants entry to three separate groups, with payments accepted via bank transfer or prepaid phonecards. Some operators even run segregated groups targeting women of specific ethnic backgrounds, marketed to paying members as exclusive collections of exploitative content.

Inside these groups, abusive media is traded like collectible memorabilia, auctioned off for cash or bartered for additional content. Members openly mock the women and children whose privacy and safety are destroyed, often framing the trade as a casual hobby or a tool to punish former romantic partners. Many joke openly about evading law enforcement, claiming police lack either the knowledge or the will to shut down their operations. While some groups have adopted superficial rules banning overt child sexual abuse content to avoid prosecution, users like David regularly evade these safeguards to share and trade exploitative material targeting minors.

In one 236-member group reviewed by investigators, members were polled on how they would sexually degrade a 13-year-old girl, whose image and identity were posted publicly for the group’s consumption. In other groups, explicit images and videos of women are sold for as little as a $250 prepaid phonecard. Tech consultant Shivam Teelucksingh, who infiltrated multiple groups as a decoy on behalf of the *Sunday Express* in May 2025, described the networks as “objectification engines” in his open-source intelligence report. Victims’ explicit images are posted publicly for the group to rate, with hundreds of comments containing explicit sexual threats and derogatory commentary pinned directly to the posts, creating permanent, localized harassment threads that follow victims across their digital and physical lives. Teelucksingh documented coordinated stalking campaigns, where members share victims’ personal phone numbers, workplace contact information, and family details to encourage widespread anonymous harassment via calls and messages. To evade platform detection and bans, members constantly create, delete, and re-create anonymous burner accounts dedicated to targeting victims, often fabricating damaging false backstories or weaponizing real personal information to destroy victims’ social standing within the anonymous echo chamber of the groups.

The existence of these networks is not a new revelation. Victims have been reporting the groups to the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) for years, and the issue reached the national appellate court in a constitutional lawsuit brought by the Humanitarian Foundation for Positive Social Change (HFPSC) on behalf of abuse survivors. In that case, an anonymous survivor reported that explicit images of her taken when she was a child were uploaded to a pornographic site in 2020, leading to years of harassment, stalking, and blackmail. She reported the abuse to local police that year, but no action was taken. In 2021, she infiltrated multiple underground groups to gather evidence, ultimately turning over a flash drive containing links and evidence of abuse against hundreds of additional victims to law enforcement – only for police to later report that the evidence had been lost. The court ultimately ruled that police had failed to protect the survivor, awarding her $100,000 in damages, noting that her report had fallen “into a black hole” with no effective investigation between 2020 and 2022. The court did acknowledge that the TTPS had made limited efforts to address the issue after the case received media attention, and dismissed broader claims of ongoing constitutional breach.

In court filings, police reported that investigations into reports filed after April 2022 are ongoing, and that a TTPS sergeant conducted an investigation between May and July 2023 in coordination with the Director of Public Prosecutions’ Office. Law enforcement has cited significant challenges to infiltrating the private groups, noting that investigators must be invited by group administrators to gain access. A female officer was assigned to infiltrate the networks, but as of the court judgment, she was still waiting for secure covert phone numbers to proceed with the investigation. The TTPS also told the court it requires additional resources – including dedicated devices, virtual private networks, and secure anonymous online identities – to effectively infiltrate and investigate the groups, and noted that officers require ongoing updated training to keep pace with evolving digital evasion tactics used by group members.

Nearly five years after the first reported victim complaint, and months after the court ruling, little has changed. Three months ago, the *Sunday Express* filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with the TTPS Legal Department seeking updates on the status of ongoing investigations into the networks. More than 100 days later, that request has not been fulfilled. For victims, the delay stretches far longer. In an April 2025 email to the TTPS, one survivor requesting an update on her case wrote that repeated delays and constant referral between different officers have been emotionally devastating, noting “This constant run-around is not the right procedure. It has also been very emotionally tasking for me as these are sexual offences.” As of the *Sunday Express* investigation, that survivor had still received no response from police. Other survivors shared similar accounts of frustration, with one noting “I’ve reached out several times in the past, and they can’t even point me in the direction of who’s looking into it.” Another said, “I think something in me kind of retreated because I really tried my best to have something done.”

On the occasion of Trinidad and Tobago’s 64th Independence anniversary, the head of the National Council of Indian Culture (NCIC) Dr. Surujdeo Mangaroo has issued an urgent, respectful appeal to Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar to bring back the country’s dormant Race Relations Committee as a proactive tool to defuse growing intercommunal tensions.

Delivering his feature address at the Independence Rainbow Dance Festival held at NCIC Nagar in Chaguanas on Saturday, Mangaroo outlined a clear mandate for the restored body: it would be tasked with investigating racial bias complaints, fostering open cross-community dialogue, rolling out public education programs focused on inclusion, and drafting policy recommendations to strengthen bonds between the nation’s diverse ethnic and cultural groups.

Mangaroo pushed back against potential criticism, noting that reinstating the committee should not be interpreted as an admission of systemic national failure. Instead, he framed it as a deliberate, responsible act of governance that prioritizes long-term social cohesion over short-term political convenience. “We cannot wait until tensions become crises before we begin the work of reconciliation. Prevention is wiser than repair,” he emphasized.

A core requirement for the new committee, Mangaroo stressed, is full independence from partisan political control. To build public trust, the body must be accessible to all citizens, and its work guided by core principles of fairness, mutual respect, and protection of every individual’s dignity. He argued that a properly structured, sufficiently resourced committee would create a permanent, safe national platform where representatives from civil society, religious groups, cultural institutions, educational bodies, youth organizations, and political parties can gather to address divisive issues in a constructive, solution-focused way.

Reflecting on the meaning of Independence in the plural, multi-ethnic nation of Trinidad and Tobago, Mangaroo argued that the annual celebration goes far beyond symbolic acts of flag-raising and anthem-singing. It is, he said, an ongoing collective commitment to building a society where every citizen feels respected, fairly represented, fully included, and rooted in a shared sense of belonging and security.

Trinidad and Tobago’s cultural and ethnic diversity is not an inconvenient problem to be managed, Mangaroo noted — it is one of the country’s greatest national assets. He added that distinct communities can maintain their unique cultural identities while coming together for shared national celebrations, a dynamic that is not division, but unity in practice.

The NCIC president did not shy away from criticizing recent political rhetoric, pointing out that some politicians have deliberately chosen to stoke division rather than promote unity, believing that intercommunal separation will advance their own partisan political interests. This approach, he said, encourages citizens to view one another as opponents rather than fellow countrymen. While it may deliver temporary electoral gains, it erodes the foundation of the nation over time.

“No political agenda should be built upon the deliberate separation of the people of Trinidad and Tobago. No election victory can justify the damage caused when communities are turned against one another. No politician should use race, religion or culture as a tool for political manipulation,” Mangaroo stated.

The Independence Rainbow Dance Festival that hosted Mangaroo’s announcement brought together performing artists from across the country, showcasing a rich mix of cultural traditions: African and Indian folk dances, Arabic-inspired movement, African drumming, tassa drumming, steelpan performances, and collaborative rhythm sets. Mangaroo highlighted that the event itself embodied the unifying power of culture, at a time when political rhetoric often pulls communities apart.

“On this stage, we see the beauty of our diversity brought together in one shared national space,” he said, adding that cultural events like the festival do more than entertain — they create welcoming spaces where people can meet, share experiences, learn from one another, and build mutual appreciation. For Mangaroo, cultural institutions have a critical role to play in celebrating difference, exchanging knowledge, and strengthening shared national belonging.

Mangaroo stressed that the work of advancing national unity is not the responsibility of the government alone. It requires active participation from every sector of society: parents must teach children that cultural difference is not a threat, media outlets must avoid language that inflames racial suspicion, cultural organizations must prioritize cross-community collaboration, politicians must reject the exploitation of identity for electoral gain, and individual citizens must refuse to be manipulated into mutual hostility.

Reaffirming the NCIC’s ongoing commitment to building a united, inclusive nation, Mangaroo said the organization will continue to use culture as a bridge between communities, promote cross-group understanding, speak out against discrimination and prejudice, and counter political division. “We will continue to work with all citizens, who believe that our differences should become a source of strength rather than conflict,” he said.

“As we celebrate Independence, let us remember that Trinidad and Tobago belongs to all of us. Let this festival send a clear message: our diversity is not our weakness but our strength,” he added.

A Brief History of the Race Relations Committee

The Race Relations Committee has a long, intermittent history in Trinidad and Tobago. It was first established in the early 1990s, and operated from 1991 to 1995 before being disbanded. Then-Prime Minister Patrick Manning re-launched the body in August 2003, with its inaugural official meeting held at the government’s Whitehall headquarters on August 15 of that year.

Ahead of that first 2003 meeting, Manning told reporters that the core purpose of the committee was to open sustained dialogue between communities, because much of the animosity and acrimony in race relations stemmed from mutual misunderstanding of different groups’ positions. The 2003 iteration of the committee included prominent cross-community leaders: then-Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha general secretary Sat Maharaj, Emancipation Support Committee representative Pearl Eintou Springer, Muslim Coordination Council representative Yacoob Ali, and academic Prof Selwyn Cudjoe.

A single anonymous lottery player is sitting on a life-changing $24 million prize after their randomly generated Quick Pick ticket scored the top prize in Saturday night’s Lotto draw, the chairman of the National Lotteries Control Board (NLCB) has officially confirmed. In an exclusive interview with local outlet TV6, NLCB chair Ken Emrith laid out full details of the historic draw, confirming the winning ticket was sold at an NLCB Lottery Centre on El Dorado Road in Tunapuna on August 22, 2026.

Unlike manually selected tickets where players pick their own combinations, this winning entry used the Quick Pick system, which generates number combinations at random through a central computer. Emrith noted that the jackpot winner has not yet stepped forward to claim their windfall, as the draw was only held the previous evening. The exact value of the top prize sits at $24,027,490.65, with a mandatory 10 percent government tax deducted before the winner receives their payout.

Alongside the major jackpot, multiple secondary prizes were awarded to other participants in the draw. One lucky player matched all five regular numbers with the multiplier but missed the Powerball, taking home a $200,000 prize. Two additional entrants matched all five base numbers to claim $50,000 each. Further down the prize tiers, 8 players won $6,000 each for matching 4 numbers, the Powerball and the multiplier; 25 players claimed $1,500 apiece for matching 4 numbers and the Powerball; 67 won $1,000 each for matching 4 numbers with the multiplier; 213 took home $250 for matching 4 numbers; 316 won $100 each for matching 3 numbers, the Powerball and the multiplier; 711 claimed $25 for matching 3 numbers and the Powerball; 2,619 won $20 each for matching 3 numbers with the multiplier; 6,552 earned $5 for matching 3 numbers; 2,707 won $10 each for matching 2 numbers, the Powerball and the multiplier; and 6,897 participants received one free Quick Pick for matching 2 numbers and the Powerball.

Emrith explained that this $24 million jackpot ranks as the third-largest top prize awarded in the country’s lottery over recent years. The largest recent win came roughly two years ago, when one player took home a $30 million jackpot. Echoing long-observed patterns in lottery participation, Emrith noted that rolling jackpots that grow over consecutive draws consistently spark rising public interest, driving more people to purchase entries and lengthening lines at lottery outlets. With Saturday’s draw producing a jackpot winner, the prize pool has now reset for the next scheduled draw.

The next Lotto draw will be held this coming Wednesday, with a starting jackpot of $2 million already on offer. In line with longstanding NLCB policy designed to protect winners’ safety amid the country’s ongoing security challenges, the identity of the jackpot winner will never be disclosed to the public. Emrith emphasized that the board only releases the general location where the winning ticket was sold, to prompt the holder to check their entry and come forward to claim.

“We don’t force people to reveal their identity publicly,” Emrith explained. “We have been aware of the country’s security landscape for a long time, so we keep winners’ identities completely confidential. All we share is the general area of purchase to help the ticket holder confirm their win.”

Winners have a 12-month window from the date of the draw to claim their prize. If the jackpot remains unclaimed after the one-year period, the full prize sum will be transferred to the national government treasury. Emrith noted that this timeline is standard industry practice across global lotteries, designed to give winners sufficient time to organize their affairs and come forward with their winning ticket. As of Monday morning, the NLCB remains in a holding pattern, waiting for the holder of the winning $24 million ticket to initiate the claims process. The winning numbers from Saturday’s draw are 4, 9, 13, 28, 29, with Powerball 8.