标签： Trinidad and Tobago

In a dramatic parliamentary address delivered on June 10, 2026, Trinidad and Tobago’s Attorney General John Jeremie has laid bare extraordinary allegations against three high-profile individuals—businessman Dominic Hadeed, 52, his wife Genevieve, 42, and relative Star Sabga, 69—who now face preventive detention orders over claims they conspired to assassinate top government officials. The bombshell revelations came as Jeremie tabled a motion to extend the country’s ongoing state of emergency by three months, pulling back the curtain on a widening crackdown that blurs the line between elite financial power and organized criminal activity.

Jeremie used the parliamentary platform to confirm a sweeping development: the U.S. government has revoked travel visas for multiple members of what he called Trinidad and Tobago’s “1%”, a cohort of wealthy and connected elites he accuses of operating as an organized criminal network. Acknowledging the U.S. intelligence community’s robust surveillance capabilities, he noted that American authorities had made an independent determination that these individuals’ activities warranted barring them from entry to the U.S., a move in which the Trinidad and Tobago government had no hand.

The Attorney General pushed back against the common framing of gang activity as confined to working-class street groups identified by numeric names like Sixx, Seven and Eight. Instead, he argued, the Anti-Gang Act’s broad definition—covering any informal or formal grouping of two or more people engaged in criminal activity—applies equally to the country’s economic elite, who have built decades of unchecked influence. For ten years under the previous People’s National Movement (PNM) administration, Jeremie claimed, these elites thrived, exploiting their connections to secure unlimited access to U.S. dollars, while ordinary citizens are forced to queue for hours at banks to access just $200 in foreign currency for travel. These elite figures, he added, move hundreds of thousands of dollars in foreign exchange through their credit cards on a monthly revolving basis— a privilege out of reach for most Trinidadians.

Jeremie went further, alleging the elite not only funded the PNM but were revered by the party and have effectively taken control of it, with opposition politicians acting as willing pawns for their interests. The revelation of visa revocations, he explained, came unexpectedly: a question from a journalist at Guardian Media Ltd, which Jeremie claimed is owned by the accused group, first piqued his interest. Though he initially ignored the query, he was later contacted directly by multiple elites who confirmed their U.S. visas had been revoked, he said.

Stressing that the Trinidad and Tobago government cannot influence U.S. visa policy, Jeremie made clear that authorities retain full jurisdiction over illegal activity occurring within the country’s borders. “The days when wealth could shield elite criminals from prosecution and law enforcement scrutiny are over,” he warned, arguing that any individual who operates as a gang member—regardless of social standing—will face the same consequences as street-level gang members. “If your designation is within the 1%, or if you are Sixx, Seven or Eight, Teteron (a detention facility) awaits,” he stated.

Directing a specific warning at those who have targeted him and Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, Jeremie alleged the group has hidden behind the media outlets it controls to attack the government, and that intelligence indicates they are now planning more direct violent action. “If you target me, as I expect you will, or my Prime Minister, as you have… if, as our intelligence suggests, you have in contemplation more and direct action, the indignity of the cells at Teteron await,” he said.

Jeremie declined to elaborate on additional allegations, including irregular deals over valuable state lands that he claimed the group pursued up until the night of the last general election, noting that the matter is already under active review by the Commissioner of Police. He also accused the former PNM administration of turning a blind eye not only to white-collar gang activity but to the spread of street-level blue-collar gang violence across the country.

Closing his address, Jeremie emphasized equal application of the law: an offense committed by a wealthy member of the 1% is no different than a crime committed by young working-class people in marginalized communities like Morvant and Laventille. While the government has no control over actions taken by its American ally, it will act firmly on evidence of criminal activity gathered by its own law enforcement, he confirmed, declaring that the era of unchecked influence for Trinidad and Tobago’s elite is definitively over.

Trinidad and Tobago’s Minister of Homeland Security Roger Alexander has publicly called on the country’s citizens to step back and let law enforcement investigators complete their work into the high-profile detention of local businessman Dominic Hadeed, his wife Genevieve Hadeed, and Genevieve’s maternal aunt Star Sabga. Speaking at an event held at the Roslyn Hall and Lounge in Tunapuna yesterday, Alexander issued a clear warning against the rising trend of what he labeled “trial by social media” and premature judgment in the court of public opinion.

Alexander opened his remarks by stating he would not share any specific details about the ongoing investigation, noting that uniformed police officers require space to carry out their probe free of unwarranted external pressure. “What I can share with you at this time is that the police need to do their job, and I am one of the people who advocate that,” Alexander told attendees. He emphasized that law enforcement teams must be granted the space to pursue their inquiries both effectively and efficiently, without being swayed by widespread public commentary or ungrounded speculation about the case.

“In order to do that job effectively and efficiently, they must be given that option, that opportunity to do that, without this set of crosstalk and the court of public opinion making statements and thing,” he said. “Do your job and let’s see where we go from there.”

Alexander confirmed that the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) is advancing a targeted probe into the three detainees, and urged the public to wait for official conclusions before drawing any final judgments on the case. “All I can say is that the police are pursuing a particular type of investigation and we await the outcome,” he added.

The minister also voiced criticism of the flood of commentary on the case across social media platforms, calling out premature public statements from political figures — including remarks from the country’s Opposition that left him surprised. “The court of public opinion and the social media advocates and the persons who are making various statements…I was taken aback even by certain pronouncements made by the Opposition,” Alexander said.

He went on to defend the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), a cornerstone institution of Trinidad and Tobago’s justice system, highlighting the office’s critical role in upholding the rule of law. “The DPP holds an office in Trinidad and Tobago second to none,” Alexander said. Drawing on his own decades of experience as a former police officer, he shared that he has long observed the DPP carries out all official duties with extreme care and attention to detail. “He, from my knowledge and from my experience as an ex-police officer, is very meticulous in how he does things,” Alexander added.

Alexander’s address wrapped up with a broader appeal to national values, urging all citizens to prioritize respect for the rule of law — a standard he argued should be taught to children from a young age within family households. “Respect the rule of law. If you start with it at home as a parent, you will see your sons and daughters growing up respecting that,” he said.

He also warned that eroding public respect for legal and state authority carries profound long-term risks for the entire country. “When you as a citizen, or you as a society, or you as a country, start to pull away from that type of respect for authority, then what do you expect to happen?” he asked.

In closing, Alexander called on the public to allow the formal judicial process to proceed unimpeded, and to commit to accepting the court’s final decision regardless of outcome. “Let us move away from that and return to the day when a citizen was proud to be a citizen in Trinidad and Tobago and allow the court, where everybody does run to, make a decision, and we respect the outcomes,” he said.

A prominent Trinidadian businessman and his wife have hit a legal roadblock in their bid to secure release from police custody, after the High Court dismissed their habeas corpus application earlier this week, amid an ongoing investigation into allegations of conspiracy to commit murder.

The case centers on Dominic Hadeed, a well-known local businessman, and his spouse Genevieve Hadeed, who were taken into police custody following the execution of court-approved search warrants at multiple properties linked to the couple, carried out by officers from the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service’s Special Branch. Issued on June 24 by Master Valene Guerra-Abraham under Section 5 of the 2011 Administration of Justice (Indictable Proceedings) Act, the search warrants explicitly authorized law enforcement to seize and forensically examine a broad spectrum of electronic devices and stored digital data tied to the conspiracy probe.

The investigation itself is being conducted under Section 5(a) of the Offences Against the Person Act, Chapter 11:08, which criminalizes conspiracy to commit murder as an indictable offence. Separate warrants for each spouse laid out the specific locations to be searched: Genevieve Hadeed’s properties at #2 Orange Grove Estate in Trincity and #47 Western Circle in Westmoorings, while Dominic Hadeed’s locations were #1-3 Golden Grove Road in Piarco and #23 Pine Avenue, Bayshore in Westmoorings, plus the Blue Waters offices in Orange Grove. Officers were granted permission to enter the premises at any time, seize all relevant devices, extract stored data, and submit the collected evidence to the High Court for review.

Per the terms of the warrants, police were authorized to seize every type of digital device, including smartphones, laptops, tablets, external hard drives, portable flash drives, and physical paper documents. The scope of the data extraction covered all potentially relevant information: communication logs, stored messages, photographs, voice notes, audio and video recordings, closed-circuit television footage, text messages, GPS location history, and application-specific data. A handwritten inventory attached to subsequent court documents confirms law enforcement seized a range of devices, including multiple Apple iPhones, Samsung handsets, Apple laptops, iPads, a Dell Latitude laptop, multiple flash drives, and a full computer processing unit from the searched locations.

Representing the couple, senior counsel Faris Al-Rawi filed the habeas corpus application with the High Court, attaching copies of the executed search warrants to his supporting affidavit. Al-Rawi’s core legal argument centered on the claim that the Hadeeds were arrested during the execution of standard search warrants tied directly to the conspiracy to murder investigation, not under the 2026 Emergency Powers Regulations. He contended that the police’s subsequent use of emergency powers to extend the couple’s detention was legally invalid. “The Applicants were not arrested or detained under Regulation 13(1) of the Emergency Powers Regulations, 2026, nor under those Regulations at all. They were arrested in the execution of ordinary search warrants in respect of the offence of conspiracy to murder, which is not an offence against the said Regulations. The only basis advanced by the Respondent for the continued detention of the Applicants appears to be the Emergency Powers Regulations, which do not apply to the Applicants,” Al-Rawi stated in his affidavit.

After hearing initial arguments, Justice Frank Seepersad ruled to dismiss the habeas corpus application seeking immediate release of the couple from custody. However, the judge issued a formal directive to Police Commissioner Allister Guevarro to deliver official clarification on whether the Hadeeds are currently being held under a Preventive Detention Order (PDO). The next stage of the legal proceeding has been scheduled for a virtual hearing to be held at 9 a.m. the following day, as the court works to resolve the dispute over the lawfulness of the couple’s detention.

A significant legal dispute over the prolonged detention of a Trinidadian businessman and his spouse took a new turn on Friday, as High Court Justice Frank Seepersad rejected a habeas corpus writ application filed by the couple’s senior counsel, while ordering the top of the national police force to confirm the legal basis for their ongoing custody.

Senior Counsel Faris Al-Rawi, representing businessman Dominic Hadeed and his wife Genevieve Hadeed, lodged the habeas corpus application via sworn affidavit early Friday, seeking the couple’s immediate release from police detention. The pair were taken into custody by officers from the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) during a pre-dawn raid at their Bayshore, Westmoorings residence on Wednesday, June 24, 2026.

Al-Rawi’s affidavit laid out a granular account of the raid and the couple’s subsequent treatment in custody. According to the document, at approximately 6:15 a.m. last Wednesday, plainclothes officer Corporal Eldon Calliste forced entry into the couple’s bedroom after repeatedly calling for Dominic Hadeed, turning him away when he requested time to dress. After identifying himself with a badge, Calliste oversaw a full search of the entire residence, during which officers seized all electronic devices on the property—including devices owned by the couple’s children. Genevieve Hadeed told Al-Rawi she encountered multiple officers carrying machine guns when she entered the couple’s living room.

Following the search, the pair were transported separately to TTPS’ Special Branch headquarters at Agra Court, St James, where Dominic Hadeed’s personally licensed firearm was recorded. They were then moved to a property in Blue Waters, Orange Grove, for another hour-long search that resulted in the seizure of additional electronics, before Dominic Hadeed was taken to his business premises at Gulf City Mall to retrieve legally licensed firearms and ammunition held at the location. The couple were ultimately placed in separate holding cells at Carenage Police Station and Woodbrook Police Station, respectively.

In his affidavit, Al-Rawi detailed alarming deficiencies in the conditions of the couple’s detention, which he personally inspected after the arrest. Describing Genevieve Hadeed’s holding cell at Woodbrook Police Station, Al-Rawi recorded that the roughly 48-square-foot cell had a dirty floor, no bedding or furniture, and a hole in the ground functioning as a toilet with no running water. The cell lacked ventilation, was dimly lit by wire-shielded fluorescent lights, reeked of human waste, and had visible cockroaches crawling across the floor. A second detained woman was also held in the cramped space, crouching in a fetal position on the floor. Al-Rawi added that Genevieve Hadeed had been visibly distressed and cried throughout her detention, and that a scheduled attorney-client consultation was held in the station canteen with a uniformed officer remaining within hearing distance at all times, the door propped open with a paint bucket to prevent privacy.

Al-Rawi also raised urgent medical concerns over Dominic Hadeed’s detention conditions at Carenage Police Station. The businessman lives with sleep apnea, a chronic condition that requires nightly use of a Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) machine, and also has an orthopedic leg injury that requires a stabilizing brace. According to the affidavit, the holding cell where Hadeed was placed lacked electrical access to power his CPAP machine, and officers required him to remove his shoe laces, which compromised the fit of his orthopedic brace. He was forced to sleep on a bare concrete slab without bedding, and his sleep apnea was severely aggravated, leaving him unable to sleep for days.

The affidavit also exposed conflicting information provided by police about the legal authority for the Hadeeds’ detention. Al-Rawi told the court that when he asked Assistant Superintendent WPC Rawlins on June 25 whether the pair were detained under a regular arrest warrant, Preventive Detention Order, or the 2026 Emergency Powers Regulations, he was explicitly told the detention was not under a PDO or emergency regulations. Hours later, however, the Hadeeds were each presented with detention orders extending their custody by seven days explicitly issued under the 2026 Emergency Powers Regulations—marking the first time the couple had received any notification of the legal basis for their arrest.

By Friday afternoon, the Hadeeds had been held for approximately 74 hours without being formally charged or interviewed under police caution. Al-Rawi also told the court that Genevieve Hadeed’s 78-year-old maternal aunt, Star Sabga, was arrested without explanation at her Regents Towers, Westmoorings residence on June 25, and held in custody for more than a day before her legal team was able to meet with her. As of Friday, police confirmed they were still waiting for a forensic report from the TTPS Cyber Crime Unit before scheduling interviews with the Hadeeds, leaving the couple’s legal team to argue that a prima facie case of unlawful detention had already been established.

After hearing the application on Friday, Justice Seepersad formally dismissed the immediate habeas corpus writ request, but issued a direct order to TTPS Commissioner Allister Guevarro to issue formal clarification confirming whether the Hadeeds are indeed being held under a Preventive Detention Order. The entire matter has been scheduled for a virtual hearing before the court at 9 a.m. Saturday to revisit the question of the detention’s legality following police’s clarification.