分类： politics

An unauthorized landing of a cargo jet carrying tons of undeclared industrial explosives at Trinidad and Tobago’s Piarco International Airport has triggered a full national security investigation into the local procedural failures that allowed the high-risk flight to enter the country’s airspace, the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) confirmed in an official statement this week.

Following initial inquiries and consultations with the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, law enforcement officials determined no existing laws were violated by the aircraft or its operators, clearing the jet and its eight-person Ukrainian crew to resume their journey after all local and international security checks were completed. But officials confirmed that the breakdown in pre-authorization protocols for a volatile cargo shipment has spurred a separate, active probe into how the unapproved landing was able to proceed, activating a national security response under the country’s ongoing State of Emergency.

Key details of the incident, which unfolded Thursday evening, have been confirmed by local media and parliamentary testimony. The aircraft in question is an Antonov An-12BP operating as Flight CVK-7078, which was traveling from the Bahamas to Cape Verde en route to its final destination of Libya, with the cargo itself originating in Houston, Texas, according to shipping documents. The flight requested a technical refueling stop in Trinidad, with the crew initially declaring no cargo on official paperwork – a discrepancy that raised red flags for immigration and customs officials, who launched a deeper inspection.

That inspection uncovered approximately 7,656 kilograms of oilwell explosives, classified under the dangerous goods designation UN0440, which had not been declared per international aviation and security standards. The revelation prompted an immediate coordinated response from multiple national agencies, with law enforcement initially impounding the aircraft and detaining the crew ahead of full security clearance.

During a Friday parliamentary sitting, Homeland Security Minister Roger Alexander addressed public concerns, confirming that the situation remained fully under control and that there was no immediate threat to Trinidad and Tobago citizens or airport personnel. Responding to an urgent question from Opposition MP Marvin Gonzales, Alexander noted that the TTPS, national intelligence units, and the Ministry of Defence had already completed a preliminary assessment of the incident.

Police Commissioner Allister Guevarro emphasized that the incident, while exposing procedural gaps, demonstrated the effectiveness of cross-agency collaboration in responding to sensitive cross-border security events. “This incident has again demonstrated the positive results that can occur when we have that extraordinary level of interagency cooperation which is required in matters involving international transit, sensitive cargo, and cross-border coordination,” Guevarro said. He publicly recognized the work of the Transnational Organized Crime Unit, the Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force, Customs and Excise Division, the Airports Authority of Trinidad and Tobago, and multiple specialized TTPS divisions including Special Branch, the Special Investigations Unit, the Multi-Option Police Section, and the Guard and Emergency Branch, all of which participated in the response.

Authorities have not yet released additional details on the specific procedural missteps that allowed the unapproved landing, and have not commented publicly on why no legal breaches were found despite the undeclared volatile cargo. The incident has sparked new scrutiny of existing airspace monitoring, cargo clearance, and authorization protocols for international cargo flights, particularly during the ongoing State of Emergency that has heightened national security protocols across the country.

The TTPS said in its statement that national security agencies remain “fully engaged, vigilant, and aligned” in protecting the country’s borders and airspace, and that further updates on the ongoing investigation will be released only when operationally appropriate to do so.

Plans to expand Trinidad and Tobago’s High Court Criminal Division to clear a massive backlog of criminal cases have run into open staffing concerns, prompting the country’s Judiciary to issue a formal public assurance that recruitment for vacant prosecutorial positions is already well underway. The clarification comes after Director of Public Prosecutions Roger Gaspard sent an official warning letter to acting Supreme Court Registrar Kimberly Prescott, confirming that his office currently lacks the personnel to assign prosecutors to the newly created additional criminal courtrooms.

Gaspard’s warning cast significant doubt over whether the Judiciary’s high-profile initiative to add more judges to tackle the nation’s growing criminal case backlog can deliver meaningful results without matching investments to expand prosecutorial capacity. The shortage of prosecuting staff has emerged as a critical bottleneck that could derail broader efforts to speed up criminal case resolution.

In a formal statement released to the public this week, the Judiciary — issued through Kerry-Anne Roberts, the body’s Communications and Information Manager — addressed growing public uncertainty over the initiative’s viability. The statement confirmed that the Judicial and Legal Service Commission (JLSC), the body responsible for judicial and legal appointments, is already actively moving forward to fill all open vacancies at the DPP’s office. The Judiciary also emphasized that Gaspard and his team have been fully involved in the recruitment process from the start, as his office holds a core stakeholder role in selecting new hires.

The Judiciary further clarified that the exchange of correspondence between Gaspard and the acting Registrar was part of routine administrative coordination ahead of the court expansion, rather than an open conflict between justice sector bodies. The registrar initially reached out to Gaspard to align on logistics for the new judge appointments and revised courtroom arrangements, prompting Gaspard’s response outlining the staffing gap.

Beyond addressing the immediate staffing controversy, the Judiciary used the statement to outline its broader, long-term reform agenda for the national criminal justice system. Current ongoing initiatives include targeted improvements to case management protocols, specialized continuing training for sitting judges, enhanced cross-agency stakeholder collaboration, and strategic administrative overhauls designed to reduce bottlenecks. A central pillar of these coordinated reforms is the newly established Criminal Justice Board, a permanent coordinating body created to foster ongoing open dialogue and joint problem-solving across all agencies involved in criminal justice administration. The board is already advancing multiple targeted improvement initiatives, the statement noted.

With a cohort of new High Court judges recently appointed to support the expansion, the Judiciary confirmed that it continues rolling out parallel improvements to strengthen how criminal cases are managed and moved through the court system. Earlier in the day, local outlet the Sunday Express had sent a formal inquiry to Chief Justice Ronnie Boodoosingh seeking comment on Gaspard’s leaked letter. The Judiciary explained that due to the tight media deadline, the Chief Justice required additional time to consult fully with JLSC members on the matter, leading to the unified institutional statement released in his place.

Closing out its remarks, the Judiciary reaffirmed its unwavering commitment to delivering timely, fair resolutions for pending criminal cases across the country, and pledged to provide regular public updates on the progress of its reform and recruitment initiatives moving forward.

A brewing crisis in Trinidad and Tobago’s criminal justice system has come to light, with the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) revealing it lacks the personnel to support the Judiciary’s planned expansion of the High Court’s Criminal Division, a initiative designed to tackle a years-long growing backlog of unresolved cases.

Director of Public Prosecutions Roger Gaspard laid out the agency’s crisis in an April 30 correspondence to acting Supreme Court Registrar Kimberly Prescott, a document later obtained by the Sunday Express. Gaspard’s response came two weeks after Prescott’s April 8 letter notified him that three additional High Court judges would begin taking on backlog cases in early May, requiring the ODPP to assign prosecutors to support the new courts. In his letter, Gaspard made clear that despite the ODPP’s unwavering commitment to upholding its constitutional mandate to support efficient criminal justice administration, the office simply does not have the staff capacity to take on this new responsibility.

Gaspard emphasized that the barrier is rooted in resource scarcity, not institutional resistance. “Our constraint is not one of unwillingness or recalcitrance, but rather of staff capacity,” he wrote, noting the ODPP has operated with extreme prosecutorial staffing deficits for an extended period.

The scope of the staffing crisis is substantial. Over the past three years alone, three Deputy Directors of Public Prosecutions and two Assistant Directors have been promoted to the Judiciary, leaving all three Deputy DPP positions completely vacant. Of the six approved Assistant DPP posts, only three are currently filled, with just two new hires having been made recently. While recruitment efforts fall under the purview of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission (JLSC) and the Attorney General’s Office, Gaspard reported that hiring progress has glacial at best. Even after vacancies are advertised, he noted, there is no clear timeline for when new appointments will be finalized.

Even when new prosecutors are hired, Gaspard explained, they cannot be immediately deployed to high-stakes criminal cases. New recruits must complete a rigorous training program and supervised onboarding period before they can independently handle serious matters. Skipping this critical step, he argued, would amount to a failure of professional responsibility and a betrayal of public trust.

Existing staff are already pushed to their absolute breaking point, Gaspard added. Prosecutors not assigned to the Assize courts already manage crushing caseloads across a network of lower courts, including district courts, masters’ courts, children’s courts and bail courts. Every single one of these attorneys carries more than 70 active matters, requiring them to appear in court on a daily basis. Stretching this already overloaded workforce to cover three or four new courts would inevitably erode both the quality and timeliness of prosecutorial work across the entire system, Gaspard warned, calling the current request simply unworkable.

Additional strains on the system come from emerging procedural changes, including a growing volume of fast-track court matters, an increase in both capital and non-capital bail applications, and new judicial partner and master case management arrangements. Capital bail hearings, in particular, demand the attention of experienced prosecutors due to their urgency and complexity, placing an even greater burden on the limited pool of senior staff.

Gaspard also reminded Prescott that the ODPP has long held that each High Court judge requires a minimum of two assigned prosecutors to operate effectively, a standard that has been endorsed by multiple veteran judges. This two-prosecutor model is critical for managing trials and conducting required case management conferences. Furthermore, the recent practice of assigning multiple masters to a single judge’s case docket requires prosecutors to appear before multiple judicial officers at conflicting times, creating additional logistical chaos for a depleted team.

Under the new Administration of Justice (Indictable Proceedings) Act (AJIPA), Gaspard noted, prosecutors assigned to the High Court are now required to file new indictments on a daily basis, with strict non-negotiable deadlines. If the ODPP cannot meet these deadlines due to understaffing, the core efficiency gains the legislation was designed to deliver will never materialize, defeating the entire purpose of the reform.

Gaspard pointed out that these concerns were already raised at a February Criminal Backlog Reduction Dialogue hosted by Chief Justice Ronnie Boodoosingh, where all participating stakeholders agreed that eliminating the case backlog would be impossible without first expanding and strengthening the ODPP’s staffing capacity. The Judiciary’s current request to staff new courts without prior meaningful collaborative planning therefore came as an unexpected departure from the consensus reached during that dialogue.

Gaspard also addressed a new problematic practice: teams of newly appointed judges have begun reaching out directly to individual prosecutors to coordinate scheduling and case matters. While he supports robust judicial case management, Gaspard warned that unvetted direct contact risks creating administrative inconsistency and can inadvertently place unfair pressure on individual prosecutors. All such communications, he requested, should be routed through the ODPP’s Indictment Department with a copy sent to the Director to maintain consistency and fairness.

Staffing shortages are not the only challenge facing the ODPP. Gaspard also noted the office suffers from inadequate physical office space and a parallel shortage of administrative and clerical staff, forcing prosecutors to divert time away from legal work to handle routine administrative tasks. Gaspard characterized the challenges facing the ODPP as systemic, rooted in a failure to match judicial expansion with corresponding investment in prosecutory capacity.

“While the expansion of judicial capacity is laudable and necessary, it must be accompanied by parallel investments in prosecutorial and administrative resources if the intended gains in efficiency are to be realised,” Gaspard wrote.

Despite the current impasse, Gaspard reaffirmed that the ODPP remains committed to collaborative problem-solving with the Judiciary and other criminal justice stakeholders. The office is open to negotiating pragmatic, interim measures to ease pressure on the system, he said, as long as the ODPP is given sufficient advance notice to adjust staffing and plan appropriately.