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In a wave of violent criminal activity that has rattled communities across Trinidad and Tobago, top law enforcement official Allister Guevarro, Commissioner of Police, has publicly stood by his officers’ use of lethal force in two police-involved shootings connected to residential robberies that unfolded within a single 24-hour window. During a press briefing held yesterday at the Port of Spain Police Administration Building, Guevarro made clear that any armed offender who confronts responding officers will be met with decisive, forceful pushback.

Against the backdrop of an active national state of emergency, Guevarro confirmed that the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) is operating at an elevated alert level, prioritizing rapid responses to every citizen report of criminal activity. In a striking reveal mid-press conference, Guevarro announced that even as he addressed reporters, officers from the TTPS Central Division were already on the scene of a third home invasion, which had already left one suspect dead.

“Unfortunately, as we speak, the police are on the scene of a home invasion in Central Division where another fatality occurred,” Guevarro stated, underscoring the ongoing urgency of the crisis.

Turning directly to organised criminal elements and their families, Guevarro delivered an unflinching warning, stressing that the state of emergency has shifted the TTPS operational posture to prioritize community protection. “We are in a state of emergency. The posture of the police in responding to the cries of the citizenry is elevated. Please warn your brothers, your fathers, your uncles, whomsoever…if you know you are involved in criminal activity, don’t arm yourself and go in people’s house,” he said. “Don’t arm yourself and go and rob anybody. Because my officers, when responding, will defend themselves against you, and the outcome may not be one with which your family would want to happen.”

Guevarro went a step further, urging family members of active criminals to take preemptive action to avoid deadly outcomes. “If you know your family have a gun, tell them, ‘Aye, go put it in a spot, call the police and let them come and get it.’ You know your family committing robbery…it is best that you report them to the police and give us the evidence to put them away than you have to go and bury them. Because they, in going to put a robbery down, will end up in a situation which may not come out or resolve well for them in the end,” he argued. Reiterating his core message, he added: “Do not go in people’s houses. That is the warning that should be going out there. It is not yours, don’t go and look for it. They are still lawful means to make money in this country.”

Guevarro emphasized that the string of recent shootings lays bare the extreme risk that armed home invasions pose to both frontline officers and innocent members of the public. “There have been two police-involved shootings linked to home invasions in the matter of hours, 24 hours, and this underscores for me the extreme danger posed by armed offenders who target people in their homes, whether occupied or unoccupied,” he explained.

For individuals who continue to target residential properties, confront officers, and spread terror across local communities, Guevarro said the TTPS’s message leaves no room for misinterpretation. “To those who believe that they could invade people’s homes, confront my officers and terrorise communities, the message is unmistakable. Armed criminality will be met with firm and immediate police response,” he said. “Stay out of people’s house. It is not yours, don’t go there.”

Beyond his warning to criminals, Guevarro called on law-abiding citizens to partner with the TTPS to curb violent crime, reminding the public that they can reach emergency services via the 999 and 555 hotlines, or visit their nearest local police station to report suspicious or illegal activity. “Citizens are reminded that early reporting saves lives. If you see something, say something,” he urged.

In a separate confirmation to local outlet Express yesterday, the Police Complaints Authority (PCA) disclosed that 2024 to date has seen 18 people killed by police action across 14 distinct incidents.

Nearly two months after two-year-old Angelo Tobias Plaza was first reported missing in Tobago, senior Trinidad and Tobago government official has cast doubt on the likelihood of recovering the toddler alive, calling any successful retrieval little short of a miracle.

Homeland Security Minister Roger Alexander shared the grim assessment in comments to local outlet Express on Thursday, explaining that a critical missed opportunity last week has severely complicated search efforts. Last Tuesday, first responders from the local Fire Service spotted an object matching the description of a small body in the heavily seaweed-choked waters of Goodwood Bay, the area where Angelo was last seen. By the time retrieval teams could navigate the dense vegetation to reach the location, the object had vanished, swept away by coastal currents.

“That’s why at this point, finding the child is effectively impossible. If we do recover him, it will have to be considered nothing less than a miracle,” Alexander stated.

Despite the low odds of a successful recovery, Alexander indicated that the investigation into the toddler’s disappearance is approaching a key milestone that will bring long-awaited closure to the community and Angelo’s family. “Law enforcement has already made enormous, valuable progress on this case. Everyone affected has been desperate for answers, and we have now reached a stage where closure is coming into view,” he said.

Calling the case devastating for the entire island, Alexander extended official condolences to Angelo’s family and the wider Tobago community. He also offered high praise for the multi-agency response that has been mounted over the 10 weeks since the toddler went missing on May 11.

“I cannot speak highly enough of the work done by Assistant Commissioner of Police Rishi Singh, his team of Tobago-based investigators, and every agency that has lent support. This has been a fully coordinated collaborative effort between the police service, Fire Service, Defence Force, Coast Guard, the Tobago Emergency Management Agency (TEMA), and the volunteer Hunters Search and Rescue Team. Their tireless work has gotten us to this point, and it has been excellent work across the board,” Alexander noted.

The minister stressed that the tragic case has exposed critical gaps that must be addressed to prevent similar incidents involving young children from ever occurring in the nation again.

As the investigation continues, search teams returned to Goodwood Bay on Thursday, with TEMA deploying unmanned drone aircraft to scan the bay’s coastline for any signs of the toddler. To date, investigators have taken seven people into custody for questioning in connection with Angelo’s disappearance: three women and four men.

The update comes just days after PNM Tobago Council Political Leader Shamfa Cudjoe-Lewis joined community members for a candlelight vigil held at Goodwood Bay Tuesday to honor the missing toddler.

Trinidad and Tobago’s top law enforcement official has announced that Interpol has issued a global Red Notice to locate a fourth suspect wanted in connection with the brutal murder of acting municipal police corporal Anuska Eversley and the mass theft of firearms and ammunition from a regional police station.

Police Commissioner Allister Guevarro confirmed the development during a recent press briefing held at the Police Administration Building in Port of Spain, noting that investigators believe the fugitive suspect fled the country in the wake of the April 19 attack at the San Fernando Municipal Police Station, located at King’s Wharf in San Fernando.

As defined by Interpol, a Red Notice functions as a formal request to law enforcement agencies across the world to locate and temporarily detain an individual ahead of extradition, legal surrender, or other comparable legal processes. Contrary to common misconception, it is not an international arrest warrant. The individual is named by the requesting member country or international tribunal, and each member nation retains the authority to apply its own domestic laws when deciding whether to take an individual into custody. Most Red Notices are only shared within global law enforcement networks, and public details are only released when the requesting member country requests public assistance to locate the suspect, or when the individual is deemed to pose a public safety threat.

Guevarro also provided an update on the comprehensive audit of stolen firearms from the station, a large-scale investigative effort that remains incomplete as of the briefing. He noted that the audit, which is being carried out by a large team of specialized officers, is currently between 50% and 55% complete. Prior police leaks to media have placed the estimated number of stolen weapons at 123, but Guevarro confirmed that so far, investigators have recovered 38 pistols, four shotguns, one MPX sub-machine gun, one revolver, and more than 900 rounds of ammunition. All recovered weapons and ammunition were found in and around the Claxton Bay region, but Guevarro stressed that a substantial number of stolen arms and rounds remain unaccounted for, and search operations continue on a daily basis.

To date, three suspects have already been arrested and formally charged in connection with the case: 28-year-old Municipal Police Constable Jivan “Biggs” Cooper from La Sophie Trace, Claxton Bay; 20-year-old Kwame Arnold from Lodge Road, Claxton Bay; and 24-year-old Nicholas “Nico” Ramdass, also from Lodge Road, Claxton Bay. The ongoing investigation is a coordinated, intelligence-led multi-agency effort, drawing resources from the Homicide Bureau of Investigations, the Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force, Special Branch, the Strategic Services Agency, the Special Investigations Unit, the Cyber Crime Unit, and local divisional police personnel.

During the briefing, Guevarro also addressed widespread misinformation about the case that has circulated on social media, calling out unfounded claims that have threatened to derail the investigation. He specifically called attention to a viral social media post featuring a photograph taken outside the San Fernando Police Station, which showed a suspect vehicle parked next to an official municipal police vehicle. The post’s accompanying narrative falsely claimed the municipal vehicle had been used to transport stolen firearms during the heist.

Guevarro clarified that the municipal police vehicle in the photograph had been parked in that location for more than two weeks before the post was shared. The false narrative led to hundreds of unnecessary tips from the public, who reported sightings of the vehicle across the country, wasting valuable investigative time. “When you are chasing clicks and likes on social media, please do not do it at the expense of an active murder investigation,” Guevarro said.

He also warned that irresponsible social media speculation and unconfirmed reporting amounts to prejudicial pre-trial publicity that can irreparably harm future criminal proceedings. “There is something called pre-trial publicity which in some cases is fatal to investigations, because if you take those matters to court…those brilliant attorneys come out and say, ‘My client cannot get a proper and fair trial in this jurisdiction because of what was printed and shared in the media’,” he explained.

Eversley, a 38-year-old mother of three, was found dead inside the station shortly after 4:40 a.m. on April 19. An official autopsy confirmed she suffered a brutal attack, dying from blunt force trauma, strangulation, and multiple stab wounds. Senior investigative sources told local outlet the Trinidad Express that preliminary probes point to a ring of corrupt municipal officers who had allegedly been diverting and selling seized firearms and ammunition to criminal networks for six to eight months before the murder, exposing serious gaps in oversight within the municipal police service.

In the wake of the incident, Trinidad and Tobago officials made major leadership changes to the Trinidad and Tobago Municipal Police Service (TTMPS). Assistant Commissioner of Police Wayne Mystar was appointed to replace long-serving TTMPS head Surrendra Sagramsingh, who was immediately placed on administrative leave. In an official letter dated April 21, 2026, acting permanent secretary Peter Mitchell confirmed the decision was made to protect the integrity of the ongoing investigation. The letter stressed that the administrative leave is a precautionary measure only and does not constitute a finding of misconduct or liability on Sagramsingh’s part. He has been ordered not to report for duty or exercise any official authority pending the conclusion of the investigation, and instructed to remain available to the Ministry of National Security and fully cooperate with investigative teams.

The father of a man killed in a January police confrontation in St Augustine has launched a blistering attack on the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS), calling the upcoming charges against his daughter-in-law a manufactured lie designed to shift blame and cover up police misconduct.

Christopher Samaroo, father of the deceased Joshua Samaroo, spoke out publicly one day after authorities announced Kaia Sealy would face two serious criminal charges: shooting with intent to inflict grievous bodily harm on police officers, and manslaughter for Joshua Samaroo’s death during the January 20 incident.

Rejecting the official narrative outright, Samaroo accuses the TTPS of framing Sealy to distract from their own role in the fatal encounter. In a phone interview with local outlet Express, Samaroo made clear he will not accept the police’s version of events. “Joshua is dead and my daughter-in-law is still alive, and I have to do everything to help her with his child and her,” he said, adding that law enforcement is deliberately spreading falsehoods to protect themselves from scrutiny.

Samaroo pointed out gaping logical inconsistencies in the official account, questioning how Sealy could simultaneously be the shooter and the person shot by officers. He also challenged the claim that she fired at police, noting that Joshua Samaroo had his hands extended outside of his vehicle when officers confronted him, making the police narrative impossible. “That does not make any sense. Another easy way they are trying to get out of the quicksand they are in,” Samaroo said, arguing the TTPS is facing mounting public backlash over this case and a string of other controversial police-involved shootings.

The grieving father called on Trinidad and Tobago society to confront what he described as systemic “insanity” in law enforcement. While he expressed faith that divine guidance will ultimately lead to justice, he also dropped a hint that he holds key evidence that will be revealed at the appropriate time. “I have a trump card that I will release when the time is right. The last say will be with me because I talk to my God every night, and he is going to direct me as to what is going to take place,” Samaroo said. He reiterated his unflinching accusation of institutional corruption, stating “The TTPS is corrupted, and I say that without fear or favour.”

Criston Williams, the attorney representing the Samaroo family, declined to elaborate beyond noting that the family is eager to understand how prosecutors have built the case against Sealy. “The family is very curious to see how the charge is constructed, but beyond that I have no further comment,” Williams said.