标签： Trinidad and Tobago

A sweeping security overhaul is underway in Trinidad and Tobago after a shocking incident of law enforcement-linked gun trafficking left an acting municipal police corporal dead and exposed months of illegal weapons diversion to criminal networks. All firearms held at local government municipal stations across the country are being moved to the custody of the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS), following a formal recommendation from Police Commissioner Allister Guevarro that has been immediately approved by senior government officials.

The urgent policy shift was triggered by the murder of Acting Corporal Anuska Eversley at the San Fernando Municipal Police Station, which occurred last Sunday alongside the theft of a large cache of firearms and ammunition from the facility. What initially appeared to be an isolated violent robbery quickly unraveled into a far-reaching scandal, revealing that guns had been systematically stolen from the municipal station for months and sold on the black market to underworld criminal groups. Investigators have also uncovered evidence that municipal police officers falsified official station records to cover up the missing weapons, and Eversley herself is reported to be a key figure in the illegal racket, with investigators eyeing a fellow municipal officer as the primary suspect in her killing.

In a formal letter dated April 22, 2026, addressed to Minister of Rural and Local Government Khadijah Ameen, Guevarro outlined that preliminary reviews had uncovered widespread administrative irregularities in the Firearm User’s Licences issued to municipal corporations under the Ministry of Local Government. To address these gaps and bring all weapons holdings into compliance with national firearms legislation, Guevarro proposed the immediate transfer of all licensed municipal firearms to secure storage at designated police stations within their respective jurisdictions, following coordination with local division senior superintendents.

Under the new temporary arrangement, municipal officers will still be able to access assigned firearms for official duty directly from the police stations where they are stored. This structure preserves full operational capacity for municipal policing while implementing strict, accountable custody controls that were missing under the previous system. The transfer order will remain in effect until a full national audit and verification of all municipal firearms and ammunition is completed, and all relevant Firearm User’s Licences are brought into full regulatory compliance. Guevarro requested Ameen’s intervention to disseminate the order through her permanent secretary to all department heads with oversight of municipal weapons holdings.

Ameen, who also serves as Member of Parliament for St Augustine, confirmed in an interview with the Express that she accepted the recommendation immediately, issuing a direct directive to all chief executive officers of city, borough and regional corporations to comply with the transfer order without delay. She noted that the TTPS will partner with local government bodies to ensure full compliance across all jurisdictions. The existing allocation process for municipal firearms already requires the assistant commissioner overseeing municipal policing to submit formal requisitions for weapons and ammunition to the Police Commissioner, who then authorizes purchases — a process that will now be reviewed alongside broader regulatory reforms.

Speaking at a press conference on Monday, Guevarro announced that a full audit of firearms holdings at the San Fernando Municipal Corporation would be the first step, with permanent policy changes to follow once the scope of the irregularities is fully mapped. On Wednesday, Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar publicly addressed the scandal, confirming that the illegal gun racket had been operating undetected for roughly eight months before Eversley’s murder exposed the network. The investigation into Eversley’s killing and the broader gun trafficking ring remains ongoing, with law enforcement continuing to interview suspects and review municipal records to identify all involved parties.

On the eve of marking one full year in office, Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has confirmed that no immediate Cabinet reshuffle is planned, while offering a candid assessment of her administration’s early progress – most notably a significant drop in national crime rates. The Prime Minister made the announcement Saturday following a sod-turning ceremony for the new Hilton Garden Inn development at South Park in San Fernando, where she fielded questions from reporters on two key topics: the widely speculated restructuring of ministerial portfolios and her government’s performance ahead of its first anniversary.

When asked about the possibility of reshuffling her Cabinet ahead of the milestone, Persad-Bissessar made her position clear: “There is no reshuffle on the cards at this time.”

Turning to reflection on her administration’s first 12 months in office, the Prime Minister struck a balanced tone, acknowledging meaningful progress while emphasizing that a large volume of work remains to fulfill campaign pledges to the public. “I think we’ve done a lot. There’s still so much to do…we have many promises to keep… and I’m not shirking from that. I’m looking forward to continue to work for the people of our country,” she said.

A full comprehensive breakdown of the government’s completed projects and policy achievements over the past year will be delivered by Persad-Bissessar this weekend at a national address hosted by the United National Congress at Couva South Hall. The Prime Minister used her earlier media interaction to highlight one key early win that formed the centerpiece of her party’s election campaign: falling crime statistics.

Persad-Bissessar noted she is encouraged by consistent downward trends in criminal activity, though she stopped short of declaring victory on the issue, stressing that ongoing work is critical. “Crime was something we campaigned heavily on, and we have some achievements, (but) as I say, much more to do. Murder is down by 42%. Serious crime is down by 30%,” she told reporters. “Crime is down from 600 to whatever it was at the end of last year. And again, this year, so far, from last year to now, that too is down. So, I am very happy about that, but I’m not overjoyed, because I think there’s still much more to do.”

She also clarified a key distinction in the government’s approach, explaining that the administration has implemented what she calls an “anti-crime plan”, rather than a generic crime plan – a deliberate framing that she said rejects the idea that the status quo works for criminals. “The crime plan is in the hands of the criminals, and the anti-crime plan, as I said, state of emergency (SoE) is one part of it. It is not the be all and end all of it,” she explained.

Beyond a state of emergency, the government’s multi-pronged anti-crime strategy includes embedding police officers in primary and secondary schools, expanding the total size of the national police service through new recruitment drives, and allocating additional patrol vehicles to frontline law enforcement teams to improve response times. When asked about the long-delayed reform of national firearms legislation, Persad-Bissessar confirmed that policy development is currently ongoing in collaboration with the Law Reform Commission. She added that she has ordered comparative research into regulatory frameworks used in other Commonwealth countries to identify evidence-based models that can be adapted for local use. “Yes, we will reform it,” she confirmed.

A political shakeup has hit the Trinidad and Tobago Senate, where opposition Senator Janelle John-Bates has been removed from the influential Public Administration and Appropriations Committee (PAAC), with fellow opposition legislator Vishnu Dhanpaul tapped to fill her vacant seat. The personnel change comes amid a heated parliamentary controversy tied to an ongoing PAAC probe into the government’s pharmaceutical acquisition, importation and approval processes.

On Tuesday, Leader of Government Business Darrell Allahar formally presented the PAAC’s explosive special report on the matter during a Senate sitting held at Port of Spain’s Red House, following the document’s initial tabling in the lower house of Parliament last Friday. Both legislative chambers are now scheduled to debate the report, which brings sharp scrutiny to John-Bates’ role in assisting former Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh prepare his witness statement for the committee inquiry.

Chaired by House Speaker Jagdeo Singh, the PAAC launched the investigation to examine systemic gaps and procedural conduct in how the state procures and approves imported pharmaceutical products. The inquiry was derailed in recent weeks after metadata from Deyalsingh’s April 8 witness memorandum revealed tracked edits directly linked to John-Bates, a sitting voting member of the committee responsible for overseeing the probe. Further digital records indicate she began contributing to the drafting of the document before a key closed-door committee hearing held on March 25.

Speaking to reporters outside Parliament following the report’s tabling, John-Bates acknowledged her conduct and struck a conciliatory tone about her removal. She stated that stepping aside would remove potential distractions and allow the committee’s critical policy work to move forward unimpeded. “I respect that decision. I think it will allow the important work of the PAAC to continue without it being overshadowed by any issue,” she told journalists. When asked about her future as an opposition senator, John-Bates emphasized she would defer to her party leadership’s judgment, adding that any disputed facts should be resolved through proper parliamentary procedure.

John-Bates was not the only opposition legislator linked to the drafting effort: opposition Senator Faris Al-Rawi also contributed edits to Deyalsingh’s statement. When approached by the media for comment Tuesday, Al-Rawi, a practicing attorney, declined to discuss the matter, citing legal professional privilege.

The controversy first came to a head during an April 13 PAAC meeting, where members raised formal concerns that John-Bates’ dual role as a committee investigator and a collaborator with the witness created an untenable conflict of interest that undermined procedural impartiality. In its special report, the PAAC concluded that John-Bates had compromised her duty of impartiality and potentially participated in a conspiracy to commit contempt of Parliament. The document notes that upon being presented with electronic evidence of her involvement, John-Bates admitted to the conduct. The committee warned that her continued membership would make other fellow members uncomfortable and risk eroding the body’s ability to function effectively, and formally recommended her recusal or replacement.

All voting members of the PAAC signed the special report, with one notable exception: opposition MP Camille Robinson-Regis, who submitted a dissenting Minority Report rejecting the committee’s findings and procedural handling of the case. Robinson-Regis pushed back against the PAAC’s claim that John-Bates’ continued presence would disrupt parliamentary work, dismissing the assertion as unsubstantiated speculation that violates constitutional principles of legislative participation. “The Minority rejects, in the strongest terms, the conclusion that the continued involvement of the Member ‘could make other Members uncomfortable to the point of negatively affecting the work of the Parliament’. This assertion is speculative, unsupported by evidence, and constitutionally unsound,” the Minority Report states. Robinson-Regis also warned that the committee’s reasoning sets a dangerous precedent, noting that “Parliamentary participation cannot be curtailed on the basis of subjective discomfort.” She also raised formal objections to the unauthorized leak of confidential closed-door committee proceedings related to the case.

The PAAC has confirmed it will launch a separate parallel investigation into the leak of in-camera meeting materials, and has noted that the broader inquiry into pharmaceutical procurement remains ongoing, with no final conclusions reached yet as the committee continues to collect witness evidence.