Weeks after a deadly heist at the San Fernando Municipal Police Station left a veteran officer dead and a massive cache of weapons stolen, the crisis continues to escalate in southern Trinidad and Tobago, as the majority of the stolen firearms and thousands of rounds of ammunition remain untraced – leaving local business leaders and residents on edge over growing public safety risks.
On April 19, the body of 41-year-old Acting Corporal Anuska Eversley, a 17-year veteran of the Trinidad and Tobago Municipal Police Service (TTMPS), was discovered in the station’s charge room at King’s Wharf. An investigation confirmed Eversley was beaten and strangled by attackers who accessed the facility’s secure strongroom, clearing it of 123 firearms and more than 4,300 rounds of ammunition, including 9mm rounds, 12-gauge shotgun shells, and .38 caliber ammunition.
To date, law enforcement has only recovered a portion of the stolen arsenal. Three suspects – municipal police constable Jivan “Bigs” Cooper, 20-year-old construction worker Kwame Arnold, and 24-year-old scrap iron dealer Nicholas “Nico” Ramdass, all from Claxton Bay – have already appeared in court on charges of murder, weapons trafficking, and possession of stolen munitions. Despite this progress, the ongoing absence of most of the stolen weapons has sparked urgent outcry from the local business community.
Kiran Singh, president of the Greater San Fernando Chamber of Commerce (GSFCC), told local media the region’s business owners view the security failure as an unprecedented threat to public stability, economic activity, and investor confidence. Singh warned that the unrecovered weapons are widely believed to have already entered local criminal networks, where they could be deployed in violent crimes ranging from armed robberies and kidnappings to extortion targeting both local residents and commercial operations.
“This is not just an internal breach at a police facility – it is a direct threat to every person who lives, works, or visits San Fernando and its surrounding communities,” Singh said in a statement to the *Express*. “For businesses already grappling with skyrocketing security costs, this incident has amplified fear and uncertainty across the board, affecting employers, employees, customers, and potential investors alike.”
From an economic perspective, Singh explained that the perception of unregulated illegal firearms circulating in the region causes immediate damage to consumer confidence and suppresses commercial activity. Businesses of all sizes rely on a predictable, safe environment to operate, and eroded public trust carries long-term consequences for investment, foot traffic, and San Fernando’s overall reputation as a welcoming place to do business. Small and medium-sized enterprises face the gravest risk, Singh added, as most lack the financial resources to absorb additional security expenses or recover from a violent criminal incident.
Singh called on national and local law enforcement authorities to deliver immediate, transparent, and comprehensive public updates on the ongoing investigation and audit of the heist. He emphasized that the public and business community are owed clear assurances that every possible resource is being deployed to recover the missing weapons, identify gaps in the station’s security protocols that allowed the heist to occur, and implement stronger safeguards to prevent similar attacks in the future.
The GSFCC has thrown its support behind expanded collaboration between law enforcement agencies, municipal government bodies, and the private sector to rebuild public confidence and demonstrate decisive action to address the crisis. “The safety of citizens, workers, and local businesses must remain a top national priority,” Singh added.
In response to the incident, a sweeping administrative shakeup has already taken place within the TTMPS. TTMPS Assistant Commissioner Surendra Sagramsingh has been placed on administrative leave, with Assistant Commissioner Wayne Mystar stepping in to lead the service on an interim basis. San Fernando station Superintendent Dustan Renn, the four constables who shared Eversley’s shift, and other senior personnel have also been placed on immediate leave, while the contract of former Senior Superintendent Cecil Santana was not renewed following the attack. Multiple senior and junior officers have been suspended pending the outcome of the ongoing probe.
A senior police official, speaking on condition of anonymity to the *Express*, confirmed that law enforcement has enacted immediate security overhauls across all municipal police stations in the wake of the attack. Shifts now have increased staffing with more senior officers assigned, and department-wide scrutiny has cut down on chronic absenteeism, which had been a persistent issue prior to the heist. “We’ve seen a notable increase in attendance since the incident, as all officers are now under far closer scrutiny,” the source said. Eversley’s surviving colleagues at the station are also continuing to receive professional counseling to process the trauma of the attack.
Investigations remain active, with law enforcement conducting widespread interviews and targeted operations to track down the remaining missing weapons, which authorities believe are already moving through local criminal networks. Complicating the broader security crisis, just 12 days after the San Fernando station heist, a separate cache of firearms was reported missing from another municipal police office on Penitence Street in central San Fernando, amplifying concerns about systemic security failures within the municipal police service.
