Venezuelan authorities have dropped terrorism charges against the five T&T nationals detained there since March but they are now being charged with intent to commit espionage and to commit a crime, Islamic Front leader Umar Abdullah said yesterday.

A T&T Security official also confirmed the development last night after Abdullah told the T&T Guardian he had received word on the developments a few days ago and confirmed it with the chief counsel at T&T’s Venezuelan embassy, who said the terrorism charges were being dropped but two new charges were being instituted.

 Abdullah said a decision on whether to plead guilty to that or “not guilty” will now have to be made by the men.

The men—Wade Charles, Dominic Jamal Pitilal, Asim Luqman, Andre Bathersby and Lesley Daisley —have been detained since 2014 on suspicion of terrorism. They were held at hotel Sabana Grande along with a 22-member Muslim group which went to seek visas for a pilgrimage. That group was released but they were detained.

Their families demonstrated last month when Venezuelan President Nicholas Maduro met Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley for talks. Yesterday, Abdullah said latest information received was that the five appeared in court on June 7 and their lawyers subsequently had a chamber meeting with a judge in the matter. 

Abdullah said he learned the maximum sentence for the two charges being proposed was about three years if the men pleaded guilty. Time served would be factored in. They have been detained for two years and three months so far. Abdullah said if they pleaded “not guilty” to the two charges they would have to go through a trial.

“My position is they should go through the trial rather than pleading guilty since pleading guilty to espionage and intent to commit a crime will stain them and even the country.

“We have no problem with how Government has handled the matter but will like a deeper examination of the situation in the context of the recent meeting with Venezuela. This does not seem to be what was agreed on. We need clarification on these developments,” he added.

Contacted yesterday, Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi said he was aware the Venezuelan courts were considering the matter but had not received official briefing on what had happened, if anything. 

GETTING IT RIGHT
An article on Page A10 of yesterday’s paper, headlined “China/T&T medical MoU ends: Minister lobbies for continuation”, incorrectly gave Dr Agatha Carrington’s title as deputy chairman of UTT. Carrington is in fact assistant professor, health sciences at UTT. Our apologies for any inconvenience caused. 

University students can expect changes in accessing tuition funds from September as Cabinet is expected to deliberate the findings of a task force set up to review the Government Assistance for Tuition Expenses (GATE) programme later this month.

In March, Cabinet appointed a 16-member task force, headed by senior lecturer in Marketing and International Business at the University of the West Indies, Errol Simms, to find ways to reduce the cost of GATE and recommend what programmes and which institutions should qualify.

Speaking to reporters at Penal Secondary School yesterday, Education Minister Anthony Garcia said this was done as there was evidence that many students were liming instead of taking their studies seriously. And with GATE costing taxpayers approximately $650 million a year, he said there must be value for money, especially during a time when economic stringency is needed.

“We have found that there is a large amount of wastage where GATE is concerned. Many of the students access GATE and yet they are not doing what they are supposed to do. They lime, they do all sorts of things contrary to the agreement.

“Therefore, we asked this task force to look into GATE to see how best we can make the offerings of GATE of some value to all of those who really access GATE. This task force is supposed to submit its report to Cabinet towards the end of this month because we want to ensure whatever changes that are recommended by GATE and are accepted by Cabinet, can be put in place before the beginning of the academic year in September,” Garcia said.

He said Cabinet can choose to adopt the entire report or parts of it. He said the report was critical to getting value for money, especially as there were many complaints of wastage in the programme during a national consultation on education held earlier this year.

He said based on the ministry’s goal to provide quality education, there was a need to ensure that all stakeholders, including students, play their part in making it a reality. He said he wants to see students sitting in their classrooms and taking advantage of the benefits of the local education system. 

Approximately six Food Basket Market Place employees are expected to be interviewed by investigating fire prevention officers from the Central Division’s Fire Headquarters in Chaguanas today.

The employees are going to face a tough interrogation because firefighters believe arson could also have led to Tuesday’s multi-million dollar blaze that completely destroyed the Chaguanas business.

Speaking with the T&T Guardian during a visit to the scene yesterday, a fire officer, who wished not to be identified, said investigations were ongoing but they had not yet ruled out arson.

He said investigating officers, who returned to the scene yesterday morning, could not  investigate properly because there were small explosions and small patches of fire re-igniting throughout the building overnight into yesterday. He said there were even parts of the building the officers could not access yesterday because of falling objects.

“It is very dangerous right now but the fire officers have been here ever since. We are interchanging teams, where shifts are relieving shifts, just to have round-the-clock monitoring and ongoing operations to extinguish small fires that would reignite. 

“The fire officers here are working feverishly and doing their best selflessly,” the fire officer added.

The T&T Guardian understands that management has decided to absorb the 65 displaced workers to other branches, including Arima, from as early as today. A shuttle service will also be provided for workers.

While the T&T Guardian was there yesterday, some of male workers at the establishment were seen resting under a tent. They said they had been there assisting in removing items from cold storage and taking charge of other duties in and around the premises.

The supermarket’s owner, Rasheed Mohammed, was on site yesterday morning but left around midday. 

According to reports, at about 3.25 pm on Tuesday, employee Massiah Arthur, 17, was packing toilet paper in the upstairs warehouse when he noticed a fire in an area where bleach and insecticide sprays were stored. He said when he saw the blaze he raised an alarm but within minutes the entire upper floor was completely engulfed in the flames.

Murder accused and alleged gang leader, Rajaee Ali, is claiming prisons officers are seeking to have him killed. According to Ali’s attorney, Criston Williams, he spoke with his client yesterday and he was told  officers had threatened him. 

CNC3 was informed yesterday by fellow inmates of the plot which Williams verified to the T&T Guardian following a meeting with his client.

According to the CNC3 report, an inmate stated that an officer, who was identified, has been asking his subordinates to stage an attack and murder Ali. The officer also suggested a knife be planted on Ali’s body so that their alibi would be airtight.

The plot to murder Ali, the inmates claim, has been brewing since 2013 after colleagues of the officers were killed, supposedly on instructions from someone behind prison walls.

Williams claimed Ali was alerted to the threat and was now fearful for his life. He alleged his client’s cell was ransacked by officers and his food and personal items were destroyed while his clothes were doused with water. One officer, Williams said, was alleged to have threatened to poison Ali. Ali, however, is fasting for the month of Ramadan.

Ali, who is accused of murdering Dana Seetahal, SC, and conspiring to murder radio announcer Kevaughn “Lerbz” Savory, as well as being the leader of a gang, is classified as a high risk inmate. 

Williams said he wanted to have an urgent meeting with Commissioner of Prisons, Sterling Stewart, on the matter. Attempts to contact Stewart were unsuccessful last night as calls to his cellphone went unanswered and there was no reply to a text message sent.

But in a telephone interview last night, Prisons Officers Association secretary Gerard Gordon described the threat as “speed talk”. He said his officers would not stoop to such depths, adding Ali is not the first high risk prisoner his officers have dealt with and he will not be the last.

“Despite what people say, officers act in a manner that is responsible. Prisons officers are not gangsters and they will not operate in that manner,” Gordon said.  

Judgment has been reserved in the lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Cabinet’s new proposal for the selection and appointment of a police commissioner and his deputies. 

High Court Judge Peter Rajkumar deferred his decision after hearing submissions in the case brought by retired police Insp Harridath Maharaj, who is claiming that the Cabinet infringed on the powers of the Police Service Commission (PSC) when it issued two legal notices last year, prescribing the procedure and criteria to be used by the PSC in selecting people for executive posts in the T&T Police Service (TTPS).  

Maharaj filed the lawsuit earlier this year in the “public’s interest”, as he claimed he had witnessed first hand the debilitating effects political interference can have on the proper and efficient management of TTPS. 

His legal team was led by former prime minister and Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar, who yesterday submitted that the provisions of the Commissioner of Police and Deputy Commissioner of Police (Selection Process) Order of 2015 reduced the PSC’s autonomy of the selection procedure, as guaranteed by the Constitution. 

Among the proposed procedures being complained about, Persad-Bissessar highlighted the requirement for the Minister of National Security to initiate the selection process and a mandate for the PSC to utilise State-owned procurement company, NIPDEC, to select a local recruitment agency, which would then be contracted to assist in the selection process. 

She contended that the latter provision removed the requirement for constant consultations between the agency and the PSC and delegates its responsibility to gather information and disqualify candidates. 

Maharaj’s contentions were rejected by both attorneys for the State and the PSC, who agreed that the procedure introduced by the latest order afforded the commission more power than the last order issued in 2009. As they both noted that the PSC’s independence is sacrosanct, they stated that Cabinet did not overstep its boundaries.

Head of the PSC’s legal team, Russel Martineau, SC, said the Constitution gave Cabinet the power to issue the order guiding the work of the PSC. 

“This concerns the independence of the PSC, so we (PSC) are not taking sides. It could not be clearer that whatever the order is, you cannot fault it,” Martineau said. 

Senior Counsel Douglas Mendes also defended the order’s provision for the use of NIPDEC to select the recruitment agency. 

“The commission has a limited budget, there is nothing wrong with the PSC using the facilities of the State to achieve its objectives,” Mendes said. He also contended that the order did not remove the PSC’s right to reject companies selected by Nipdec, who it felt may be politically influenced and that the PSC still had full control over the terms and conditions given to the agency eventually chosen. 

Both Mendes and Martineau suggested that Rajkumar chose to interpret the order in a way that least encroached on the PSC’s power, as any negative impact being suggested has never occurred since the controversial procedure is yet to be adopted. 

Maharaj is also being represented by Anand Ramlogan, SC, Gerald Ramdeen, Kent Samlal, Jayanti Lutchmedial and Douglas Bayley. Rishi Dass appeared alongside Mendes. 

A 750-room Sandals Resorts is earmarked for Tobago, as Government seeks to make the island a tourism destination in a bid to generate revenue, jobs and foreign exchange, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley says. He made the announcement while delivering the feature address at a political meeting in St Joseph on Tuesday.

Rowley told supporters Government had come up with a tourism plan to diversify the economy and take the country out of the economic gloom it was  facing. With Sandals opening up doors in Antigua, Bahamas, Grenada, Barbados, Jamaica, St Lucia and Turks and Caicos, he said it was time Tobago become an undisputed vacation experience to the world. 

During his recent trip to Washington, Rowley said he held discussions with Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) president, Luis Alberto Moreno, “who is eager to provide funding for that.”

The IDB was so excited to start the multi-million dollar hotel project, Rowley said, it had told Government they intended to pay for the preliminary work.

“We are talking to the local IDB office to ensure that the IDB pay those monies. So we took steps to present Tobago as a potential site and we have already had, based on the work we have done so far... we have already had a presentation Wednesday (last) by Sandals to the Cabinet. 

“We move on now with respect to negotiation for 750 rooms in Tobago to make it a tourism resort.”

The news comes days after it was disclosed Rowley will now head a special committee charged with Tobago’s tourism sector. The committee was set up in May and will see the PM having oversight of ministers and stakeholders in relation to tourism.

Members of the committee include Tourism Minister Shamfa Cudjoe, Finance Minister Colm Imbert, Minister of State in the Office of the Prime Minister Ayanna Webster-Roy, as well as Tobago House of Assembly Chief Secretary Orville London and THA Chief Administrator Raye Sandy. Sandals was founded by Jamaican business tycoon Gordon”Butch” Stewart.

As soon as negotiations have concluded, Rowley said they would form a partnership between Sandals and the State. Working closely with the Government on this deal was the THA, Rowley said. He said Tobago would be known as a “world class... worldwide tourist destination in the Caribbean. We will ensure that when we embark on this project, that there is funding in place and this thing called corruption we want to recede.”

Once the deal had been sealed, Rowley said construction would generate jobs and open opportunities that could change the face of the island, which had a lot of potential.

“We will think big and move fast. We are offering Tobago an opportunity to take part in the Caribbean tourism plan in a meaningful way,” he added.

Rowley has already instructed WASA to upgrade its supply in Tobago with the establishment and operation of desalination plant, while T&TEC would have to upgrade its electricity supply. The PM said since last year he had also promised to open up the northeastern region by building a road from Valencia to Toco.

“At the end of that road we will have a ferry port that will go to Tobago,” he said. Instead of travelling via plane to Tobago, Rowley said a 20-minute hassle free drive would get you from Trinidad to Tobago and vice-versa. Funding for the port and ferry, Rowley stated, would be provided by the IDB.

Also on the drawing board was construction of two highways: Sangre Grande to Manzanilla and Manzanilla to Wallerfield. By the end of June, Rowley said consultants would come up with designs for both highways.

Two people were killed when the car they were in crashed into a truck and then slammed into a lamp post near Cumuto Junction on Monday night. 

According to police reports, the accident took place around 11 pm. The driver of the white Mazda 3 reportedly attempted to make a U-turn at the Cumuto traffic lights on the Churchill-Roosevelt Highway when the car collided with a truck heading east.

Both occupants of the car—Jamie Alvarez, 24, and Adrian Mitchell, 28, died on the scene. Police said the duo was heading to their Valencia homes when the accident took place. Alvarez is the niece of soca artiste Ian “Bunji Garlin” Alvarez.

Alvarez expressed his sadness over the loss of his niece on social platform Instagram, saying: “Rest in peace my niece. Rest in peace. May the lord strengthen Eric and Joella in this time and the rest of us. May the lord see over this and guide all our actions accordingly. The grief is heavy but knowing you are in a better place eases the pain for a few. We love you, Jamie. Rest peacefully."

According to the driver of the truck, identified only as “Mohan”, he swerved to avoid hitting the car but could not manoeuvre in time to avoid a collision. 

A passenger in the truck, Stanley Mahabir, was taken to the Arima Health Facility along with the driver for treatment before being released. Fire officers had to use the Jaws of Life to remove the duo from the mangled wreck. 

Speaking with the media at the Forensic Science Centre, St James, yesterday, Mitchell’s mother, Lisa Mitchell-Mc Intosh, said she was now inconsolable as her son, a father of two, was the life of any party. She said her son, a tattoo artist and PH taxi driver, only got his car last month as a way to earn extra cash.

“He was a very family-oriented person, everything he did was for his family. I don't know why this happened to him, nothing could console me now. 

He was the joy of my house. He was so funny and he was always playing the fool and always had us laughing. He always had something funny to tell you,” Mitchell-Mc Intosh said.

She added that his ten-year-old daughter, along with his wife, are both overcome with grief along with Mitchell’s siblings, while his son, four, is not fully aware of what happened to his father. 

Two State agencies — the Tourism Development Company (TDC) and the National Lotteries Control Board (NLCB) — have been accused by Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley of spending $734,000 of taxpayers’ money on a radio station to smear his name, leading up to the 2015 general election.

Rowley made the disclosure while addressing PNM stalwarts at the public meeting in St Joseph on Tuesday. The PM recalled that one evening, while seated in his vehicle on his way to the Queen’s Park Oval, he heard comments being made about him on Talk City 91.1 FM’s Ground Report programme, which he described as “most vulgar, outrageous and filthy.”

Talk City is owned and operated by State-owned Caribbean New Media Group. Rowley said he questioned how a programme like that could have been permitted on the airwaves, “election or no election. It was all about me and meh father and meh mother and this and this and I had raped this and done that.”

The PM said the programme was conducted by known felons who were on the then government’s payroll. Rowley said it was later discovered that both NLCB and TDC had made payments to run the programme on the airwaves.

“These payments were made by the TDC and the NLCB. Taxpayers’ cash was being used to conduct that vulgarity of the last campaign... to abuse the Opposition Leader.”

In  May, June and July of 2013, Rowley said the radio station received payments of $86,000, $100,000 and $86,000 respectively. For the periods September, October and December in 2014, the station collected $45,000, $40,000 and $30,000. By April of 2015, Rowley said a total of “$734,000 was paid” to the Ground Report.

Rowley also spoke about the Chaguaramas Development Authority (CDA) coming to the Cabinet for an increase in its overdraft to pay salaries.

“And while they can’t pay salaries for workers in there, that same agency entered into a $12 million contract with Ernie Ross to provide PR.”

The PM said the CDA spent $9 million on PR and was “being sued for another $3 million. So it was a $12 million deal. That is how the plan was working.”

In May 2015, Ross Advertising was paid $8,057,000 by the CDA to develop and co-ordinate the authority's rebranding, communications and marketing initiatives. This was revealed by former minister of planning and development Bhoe Tewarie in answering a question in the House of Representatives.

In addition to the $8 million, $3.6 million was paid in legal fees to a number of attorneys. Rowley also condemned NLCB for deciding in July 2015 to cut ties with CNMG and instead pay more than $35 million over the next five years to a private entity, Media 21, to broadcast the lottery results.

“Those who came into office found it necessary to bring that activity outside of the Government premises and of course, they are telling us that we can’t stop the contract,” Rowley said.

The PM has instructed Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi to look into this matter.

.

Mortgages generated at rates of two and five per cent, respectively, as advertised by the T&T Mortgage Finance Company Ltd (TTMF), may in fact be at higher rates than the average person will have expected. This was told to Parliament’s Public Accounts (Enterprise) Committee, chaired by Senator Wade Mark, yesterday.

Ingrid Lashley, managing director and chief executive officer of the TTMF, said the interest was valued based on existing Government policy.

Mark, who said the promised interest rates of two per cent and five per cent were false advertising, added: “There is a concept known as Truth in Lending and I myself am flabbergasted. I would have thought when an advertisement issues a mortgage which can be obtained at two and five per cent, respectively... one would come to the conclusion that this is in fact the so. 

“But when you really explain to us that the two per cent really means five per cent and the five per cent really means seven per cent market rate, many customers would not know this.”

But Lashley said the two and five per cent were not “TTMF products,” adding they were administered on behalf of the Government.

“The difference in interest rate between the two per cent and the normal lending rate is subsidised by the Government. In an effort to reduce the subsidy over time the graduation was added to the product in October 2014... both the two and five per cent mortgage. TTMF is not at liberty to define Government policy.

“Our two per cent portfolio is now at $173 million and our five per cent mortgage is just creeping up at $15 or $16 million,” Lashley said.

On the tough economic times T&T is facing which has resulted in the mass retrenchment of workers, she said foreclosure on mortgages was not as easy as it appeared. In fact the foreclosure process could take as long as two years as the court matter itself could be very long.

Lashley said out of a database of some 15,000 clients 78 were retrenched people who had difficulty in meeting mortgage payments, as at December 2015.

“But it is not only 78. These 78 had fallen victim of the current economic circumstances. Our delinquency portfolio is greater than that,” Lashley said.

HDC clients, she added, were “better customers” as they mostly come from the public service and “salaried” people as payments were automatically deducted from their monthly salaries, mitigating the risk of delinquency. Regarding the organisation’s debt figure, she said that stood at 2.5 billion.

The TTMF is expected to merge with the Home Mortgage Bank (HMB) towards the formation of a T&T Mortgage Bank which Lashley said was approved by the Government.

“This would allow TTMF to sell mortgages to HBM... HMB being the source of these securitised products and selling them off to the capital market so that our funding is more sustainable,” Lashley added.

On challenges she said no clear guidelines had been given since the reintroduction of land and building taxes as at January this year.

“When you sell property as at today you are owing six months land and building taxes but we have not been able to obtain guidance as to how it would work.

“Vendors who are selling now are not paying the land and building taxes and it is possible that the purchaser who buy now may be owing six months land and building taxes without even knowing it,” Lashley said.

Concerns were raised by committee member Dr Tim Gopeesingh who said there were general uneasiness by members of the public that was mandatory for TTMF’s lawyers to be retained rather than a private attorney as preferred by the client.

But Lashley said the customer was welcomed at anytime to use a private attorney in preparation of the deed of conveyance.

However, she added that when the same attorney was used to prepare the deed of mortgage the fees were less, hence clients were channeled to the TTMF’s attorneys. But Lashley admitted that some of the organisation’s attorneys had been there since the company’s inception which was some 50 years ago.

This prompted Gopeesingh to say such attorneys had been collecting exorbitant fees over a period of time.

In response to Sunday Guardian reports of a $2B debt that the Government owes to contractors and service providers, Finance minister Colim Imbert has said that some of the money may not be repaid, if government determines that they shouldn’t be.

Moreover, he said at the weekly government briefing yesterday, he had not known of the debts when he prepared the 2016 budget, and the government is uncovering new debts and contracts. He said they had to be dealt with in various ways—in the same way government had to meet  the $5 million in backpay owed to some sectors—and he would have to raise financing for the  debts.

“We just don’t have the money,” Imbert added.

Government in recent months has been in the first stage of auditing contractors’ debts to determine if debts genuinely deserve payment and to ensure no fraud is involved, Imbert said. He said the Government would have to determine if the work was actually done and what deserves payment. He said this had been in the process for the last eight months. Imbert said contractors had suggested government give them bonds,.

“We are considering all options,” he said.

Financing drive abroad
Imbert  also said  he would be doing a “roadshow” in  several US cities—Los Angeles, Boston, Chicago—next month to raise US$1b in financing that is needed to  carry T&T through the rest of 2016 and into 2017. It’s expected to strengthen  foreign reserves and deal with cash flows for matters including the Public Sector Investment Plan. 

He said  a team of  Finance and Central Bank  officials  will make presentations to US banks. He noted the past PP government had done the same  during their term, and they raised (US)$550m.

“I don’t expect it will be a difficult ‘sell’, I’m confident in the ability  of myself and the Governmeny to ‘sell’ T&T....T&T hasn’t ‘gone through’” Imbert said, noting  recent local success in raising $3b in funding. He said approval had been given to  borrow $3b. An auction  with financial insitutions yielded $1.88b, showing that they  “still have an appetite for government debt”. Cabinet approved a request for proposals to banks to raise the rest of the $2b to be borrowed.

Govt warning on nude pics
Government expects law enforcement authorities to  take the appropriate steps regarding the list of  over 500 young women—and photos-recently  leaked on social media, says Minister Stuart Young (Office of the Prime MInister).  

At yesterday’s media briefing, Young said law enforcement has warned that continued publication and exchange of the material were criminal acts. He said Government  is finalising amendments to the  cyber-crime bill, now being re-drafted.

Young also said the burden of  today’s Parliament debate on the Bail bill will fall on the Opposition which will have to “have a very good explanation if they don’t support the bill.” 

He assured amendment to the legislation which would be discussed today simply extends the bill by another two years allowing it to serve as an anti-crime tool.  He said Government had talks with the Opposition which had stated its members were still in caucus on the bill. 

“We hope they’ll be responsible for citizens,” he added. Young described remarks by Opposition Suruj Rambachan on the bill, as “playing politics “ with the issue.

Finance Minister Colm Imbert also said  amendments to the Insurance Act and the  Gaming and Gambling act   were being completed for presentation soon.  He said he’d  assured the Opposition, these two would be  brought back in the same format as they had been formulated last term to avoid delay in implemementing these important laws.  Young said talks are continuing on the Sandals plan and  further word would be given  at  another stage.

As they close in on a local pornography ring, investigating officers say they may have to subpoena an American-based company to retrieve the Internet Protocol (IP) addresses of the perpetrators responsible for selling, sharing and viewing thousands of nude photographs of young women. IP addresses are specific to computers going online, and can be tracked not only by country but to the device itself.

Investigating officers at the Fraud Squad Unit (FSU) have taken the lead in the investigations into how nude and sexually explicit photos of 500 young womenwere leaked on social media on Wednesday.

T&T Guardian was told by a source at the FSU that the officers would also be supported by the Cyber Crime Unit.

Preliminary investigations have revealed that the initial server for the website where the photographs were uploaded locally was recently changed to a new server based in the United States (US).

As a result of this information, officers will now have to go through Central Authority to subpoena the American-Based company, which has been identified as Digital Ocean Inc, for the IP addresses.

According to police sources, some of the girls were as young as 15 years old when they were photographed in the nude, others in their 20s.

Those photographs of the young women were being sold to porn sites, locally, regionally and internationally.

Police believe that this latest scandal is linked to a local pornography ring, which has been operating for about six years.

The T&T Guardian has been reliably informed that there are about 12 young men involved in the ring, most of whom are related. Some of the young men live in the Valsayn area, our source adds. The Guardian further understands that the mastermind is a well-known resident of the San Juan area.

Seducing, and gaining trust

The young men would befriend young women, including teenagers and UWI students and professionals. They’d initiate relationships, which would soon become physical. Once they’d gain te trust of their new girlfriends, they’d get them to take and share sexually explicit photos.

T&T Guardian was told that some of the young women were taken to an apartment in St Augustine, a stone's throw away from the UWI campus, where they were seduced into stripping and posing for the photographs. Others were taken to other apartments located in the Curepe area.

The photographs would then be uploaded and subsequently sold to locally, regional and international porn sites. 

The photos were also downloaded into flashdrives and distributed among the group, which also peddle them to businessmen and visitors to T&T.

The young men are also said to be ace hackers of computers and other smart devices. Investigators believe that they hack into phones, Facebook accounts and email accounts to steal personal photos and videos of young women either posing nude or involved in sex acts.

Attorney General Faris Al Rawi told CNC3 that he is willing and able to give the necessary assistance to the investigation.

(As is the case with) all other matters that I act on in this capacity, it will be acted upon with immediacy,” he added.

T&T Guardian was told that officers at the FSU/Cyber Crime Unit have already made contact with some of the victims and are calling others to come forward and help them in their investigations.

Three employees at the Water and Sewerage Authority’s (WASA) sub-office, Rapsey Street, St Clair, were arrested yesterday morning after police and WASA police staged a dramatic morning search of the WASA compound.

According to police reports the three daily paid employees were each held with a quantity of marijuana when officers converged on the area following a tip-off that there were guns on the premises. 

No guns were discovered following the two-hour search where each employee, including security guards, were physically searched along with their vehicles and surrounding areas. Police found 30 rounds of 9mm ammunition, 200 grams of marijuana and five grinders used to clean marijuana before smoking. 

Police said the bulk of the marijuana along with the grinders were found “in a common place” while the three men—aged 35, 42 and 49—were found with drugs either on them or in their vehicles. The trio were taken to the St Clair Police Station where they were questioned and are expected to appear in court today charged with marijuana possession. 

When the T&T Guardian visited the sub-station, which pumps water throughout parts of St James, Maraval and St Clair, one employee said police had conducted a thorough search, frisking everyone entering the compound. 

Other employees were cautious of the cameras around and were concerned that being photographed or videotaped could lead to them being dismissed. Employees said they were not in the right frame of mind to continue working and were awaiting confirmation from their superiors to leave work for the day. 

Ammo hidden in bushes

The station employs close to 140 workers most of whom are assigned to crews that conduct road restoration works for the northwest region. 

“They get weed and bullets, they didn’t get any magazine or firearms, that was about it. It was the dogs that find the ammunition in bushes,” one employee said adding:

“The employees know that the officers will come back because of the ammunition that they find. So right now the mood is everybody on their Ps and Qs because a lot of people in there does do drugs.”

The employee, who did not want to be identified, added: “Some of the them have matters before the courts. Everybody shaken up so they don’t know what will happen. The atmosphere is a little tense now.”

A release from WASA stated that the exercise began at approximately 7.25 am and restricted the movement of staff at the facility until 9.15 am. The release added that WASA was aware of the planned exercise and their Security Services Department would be lending support to the police as requested. WASA officials said following the police raid work resumed as normal.

Update

Three daily paid Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) employees, including two brothers were fined a total of $11,000 after pleading guilty to possession of marijuana. Siblings Mc Kasie and Kareem Springer, ages 39 and 34 respectively, both of Espanol Street , Covigne Road, Diego Martin along with Lincoln Garcia, of Bourgh Mulatrasse, Lower Santa Cruz, each pleaded guilty when they appeared before Adia Mohammed in the Port of Spain Magistrates' Court. The older Springer was fined $5,000 while his brother was fined $1,000 less. Garcia was fined $2,000. Police recovered SEVEN not five grinders, a 9mm pistol, a scale and a pile of cash on the compound as well. The exercise was conducted by members of the Port-of-Spain Task Force, Criminal Investigation Department and the K9 Unit. Further inquiries with respect to the gun find will continue by officers attached yo the St Clair Police Station.

Former head of the public service, Reginald Dumas, says Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley should be paid for the period of his suspension from Parliament while serving as Opposition Leader in 2015.

He said so yesterday days after Rowley told a meeting of the PNM’s St Joseph constituency: “I have told my lawyer to tell the Parliament I want my money. I don’t like my money to sleep out.”  

The former public service head in an interview yesterday said he was not aware of any law that prevents a suspended MP from being paid his salary.

Dumas said teachers, police officers and other workers “were put on suspension with full pay.”

He then asked: “How come you could have a policeman, a public servant or a teacher on suspension with full pay but you have an MP who does not receive his or her salary while on suspension?”

He said that just did not make any sense, adding: “There is no law that says a suspended MP should not receive his or her full  salary.”

Rowley told the meeting that during his period of suspension when he was Opposition Leader, he had official consultations with President Anthony Carmona.

Dumas said that was another reason why Rowley should be paid his salary.

Rowley was suspended for one month after he spoke about the so-called emailgate scandal in Parliament in May 2015. 

That matter, which, according to reports, was still being investigated by police, stemmed from “transcripts” of a conversation allegedly involving senior Cabinet ministers, including then prime minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar and then attorney general Anand Ramlogan.

Prisons Commissioner Sterling Stewart is standing by his men in face of allegations that prisons officers were involved in a plot to kill accused gang leader Rajaee Ali.

He also challenged that the facts, not fiction, be presented to the public adding: “We are dealing with mischief, confusion and bacchanal and making it into facts.”

Stewart said so at the seventh annual art exhibition put on by inmates at the Long Circular Mall, St James, yesterday. It was held in collaboration with the Raja Yoga Centre.

The claims of a hit on Ali's life were made via his attorney Criston Williams.

An inmate had stated that an officer, who was identified, had been asking his subordinates to stage an attack and murder Ali.

The officer also suggested a knife be planted on Ali’s body so their alibi would be airtight.

The plot to murder Ali, the inmate claims, has been brewing since 2013 after colleagues of the officers were killed, supposedly on instructions from someone behind prison walls.

Williams had also claimed  Ali was alerted to the threat and was now fearful for his life. 

He alleged his client’s cell was ransacked by officers and his food and personal items were destroyed while his clothes were doused with water. One officer, Williams had said, was alleged to have threatened to poison Ali. Ali, however, is fasting for the month of Ramadan. 

Ali, who is accused of murdering Dana Seetahal, SC, and conspiring to murder radio announcer Kevaughn “Lerbz” Savory, as well as being the leader of a gang, is classified as a high risk inmate. 

But Stewart described his officers as committed, adding that he, as prisons chief, was ensuring there were safe and humane conditions at the nation's prisons.

“We have a warrant for Rajaee Ali that he presents himself to the court on an appointed date and time and that is one of my main remit. Not only him but all the inmates in my care.

“Anyone can get up one morning and make allegations. You know how much allegations we hear about Rajaee Ali and how many bodies and whatever. You know how many allegations about the threat to officers' life... we don't hear the lawyers asking about this,” Stewart said.

He maintained that the Prisons Service was not only committed to ensuring the well-being of inmates but also for the protection of society.

Pressed further on specific claims that prisons officers were involved in the plan to kill Ali, Stewart again dismissed those as allegations.

“We have a role to play and we are professionals. We have to be careful about what we are supporting, including the lawyers. Is time they wake up and stop supporting foolishness sometimes. We have to stop making crime a business for too many who suppose to know better. Let them be champions of goodness instead,” Stewart added.

Asked whether there would be increased security for Ali, Stewart said that was what his officers were all about.

He said there was no public outcry from members of the public when the lives of officers were at risk, especially by those claiming their lives were instead at stake.

“There are allegations that some of these people call the shot on our officers who end up dying.

“And these same people who calling the shots we have to take care of them and nobody don't speak about the lives of the officers. 

“We didn't put no Rajaee Ali in prison and we didn’t put anybody else there. I sure for whatever reason they in prison is not preaching on the pulpit or singing praises to Allah,” Stewart said.

He added that there were no immediate plans to relocate Ali to another facility.

Parole system badly needed

Inmates who painted the various pieces were also present at the exhibition and were praised by Stewart for turning their lives around.

However, he said without certain measures, like the parole system, the inmates  could revert to a life of negativity.

Saying he had no idea when such a system would come on stream he assured, however, it was being worked on.

“We have people on pre-trial and on remand for far too long,” Stewart added.

More than 17 bullets were fired as gunmen executed La Romain labourer Mark Kern Richardson in San Fernando yesterday morning. 

Richardson, 27, was one of two murders police in South Trinidad were investigating as Navin Ramdan, 27, was beaten to death by his neighbour on Wednesday afternoon.

In the latest murder, Mon Repos police responded to reports of gunshots heard around Dottin Street at 6.45 am and found Richardson’s bloodied body on the road. 

Paramedics were called in but Richardson was already dead. 

Snr Supt Irwin Hackshaw, Supt Yusuff Gaffar and Sgt Inshan Teeluck led investigators to the scene where they recovered 15 shells and two live rounds.

Police said Richardson lived in Claude Street, La Romain, however when the Guardian visited the community, no one knew who he was. 

Residents who gathered at the scene said he recently began living in the area. 

It was believed that he was walking along the road when a car pulled alongside him, and someone in the vehicle shot him dead. 

Investigators said he had several “firearms related matters” in the San Fernando Magistrates Court and to had to report to the Mon Repos Police Station weekly as a condition of his bail.

Man killed by neighbour

Penal police aresearching for the neighbour of Ryan Ramdan who was bludgeoned to death near his Phallo Trace, Mohess Road home in Penal. A report stated that Ramdan was walking close to the neighbour’s house around 2 pm Wednesday when the suspect ran out behind him and struck him several times with a piece of iron piping. Ramdan was taken to the Siparia District Health Facility where he died while undergoing treatment. ASP Rohan Pardasie, Sgt Ryan Ramsingh, Sgt Randy Ramjag, Cpl Burke and PC Akiel Boyce responded to the crime and a search was made for the suspect who was not found up to yesterday afternoon. Police said the suspect has a history of violent outbursts.

Shocked and disappointed, the families of the five T&T nationals detained in Venezuela have renewed calls for the Government to intervene at the diplomatic level since the men now face two new charges, including spying, despite the fact that the Venezuelan authorities have dropped terrorism charges against them. The other new charge is intention to commit a crime.

Attorney Nafeesa Mohammed spoke of her the mens’ families dismay at the new development. Islamic Front leader Umar Abdullah said Wednesday he had been informed of the situation.

The  five — Wade Charles, Dominic Jamal Pitilal, Asim Luqman, Andre Bathersby and Lesley Daisley — were detained since March 2014 on suspicion of terrorism after being held at a Caracas hotel with a 22-member T&T Muslim group which had gone to caracas to get Saudi Arabia visas for the annual Hajj, the Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca. 

The bigger group was released but the five were detained on suspicion of terrorism, and have been before the court several times.

In last month’s T&T/Venezuela talks, Government officials had said that repatriation of nationals of each state was on the table. That had spurred optimism for their release and raised hope among the men’s families. 

National Security Minister Edmund Dillon, who later met with his Venezuelan counterpart for security talks, had said that Government had asked for the matter to be speeded up, but understood that it was ultimately up to Venezuela’s judicial process.

T&T hands-off 

The T&T Government’s careful approach and tone were echoed by Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister Stuart Young. He had said that T&T could not interfere with that judicial process, and that there was no connection between the detainees’ issue and projected repatriation of Venezuelan nationals at T&T’s Immigration Detention Centre.

Yesterday, Mohammed said the men have not yet filed any plea in the matter which had been adjourned to next week in the Venezuelan court. 

She added: “But their families are shocked and horrified because after the T&T/Venezuela talks, public pronouncements were made that repatriation of nationals of both countries would be done. 

“These new charges have made the families of the men very disappointed as their menfolk are still before the courts. Everyone had expected the men would be home perhaps in time for Eid.”

“People are very concerned because of the espionage charge especially...spying on what for whom?  Why would they plead guilty to something they don’t know about? While there is respect for the matter before the Venezuelan courts, we must be mindful of the circumstances. 

“So we are asking for high level diplomatic intervention in this matter and for T&T authorities to share the information they have with Venezuela as it relates to securing their release.”

Mohammed added: “We have heard the National Security Minister say the matter is subject to the Venezuelan judicial process but we need to deepen the dialogue with Venezuela on this. 

“Government has to undo the damage done in the last term when wrong information was sent about the men. We hope all parties will follow closely the pronouncements from the T&T-Venezuela meeting.”

In two weeks’ time, Planning and Development Minister Camille Robinson-Regis will take to Cabinet two audits conducted into operations of the Chaguaramas Development Authority (CDA) which has unearthed a series of irregular transactions between 2010 to 2015. 

Thereafter, Robinson-Regis, under whose purview CDA falls, will forward the file to Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi for review.   

Robinson-Regis’ assurance came two days after Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley spoke about a $9 million public relations contract awarded to Ross Advertising by the CDA.

Commenting on the contract yesterday, Robinson-Regis said CDA entered into a contract with Ross Advertising in November 2014 for public relations services, including rebranding of the State company for $6 million.

In April 10, 2015, Robinson-Regis said an addendum was made to the contract “for an additional $1.1 million.”

To date, she said $9.2 million was paid “and Ross has subsequently sued the CDA for a further $3.2 million.”

Ross Advertising is owned by Ernie Ross. Ross did not respond to a message which was left with his personal assistant, Nadine Khanai, yesterday.

Robinson-Regis explained that between 2014 and September 2015, CDA paid Ross Advertising $9 million.

“That was $3 million outside of the contract amount. He (Ross) is now asking for $3 million more.”

Following that, Robinson-Regis said the CDA had filed an application to enter its defence, while Ross had filed “for an order for judgment and to have the CDA application for extension to defend this.”

She said the matter was now being pursued in court by the CDA’s legal team, headed by Senior Counsel Elton Prescott.

Robinson-Regis said Ross Advertising was paid $25,000 a month to update CDA’s Facebook page.

“One of the things that I understand that was charged for, apart from this $25,000, there was also a new logo done for the CDA, which was paid for out of this $9 million,”  she added.

Following the swearing-in of the CDA board last December, Robinson-Regis requested an internal and financial audit.

The audits were undertaken between January and May, she said.

“I have just got that audit report. Now I am going to present that report to the Cabinet in two weeks time because there are a series of irregular transactions that took place over the last five years concerning the CDA. I would have to take directions from the Cabinet on how to move forward,” she said.

Thereafter it would go into Al-Rawi’s hands, she added.

The audits, conducted by accounting firm Ernst Young, focused on the award of contracts, leases granted and projects initiated under the then People’s Partnership government.

Robinson-Regis refused to divulge their contents. 

Questioned if the CDA had received value for money, Robinson-Regis said she had asked the same question.

Seeking constitutional power to prosecute errant police officers, director of the Police Complaints Authority  (PCA) David West has vowed to restore public trust and confidence in the Police Service.

Speaking at a public consultation at San Fernando City Hall auditorium on Wednesday night, West said if given constitutional powers, the PCA would arrest and charge those who gave the Police Service a bad name. 

Once the PCA Act was amended, West said, the PCA would be in charge of its own prosecutions and would no longer have to depend on the Commissioner of Police or the Director of Public Prosecutions to lay charges.

Saying there was an increase in “police transgressions,” West showed clips of police brutality which made the rounds on social media over the past few months. He said many cases of brutality and harassment by the police took too long to reach the courts.

“Many times when we give our file to the DPP he is busy and there is some delay. It is not his fault, he has staff constraints, financial constraints,” West said.

He added: “We want to be able to take control of our own investigations and right now we can’t. It is very frustrating when you work in an organisation where officers work very hard and bring a beautiful file with all the evidence and it goes to the DPP or COP and it sits down there and nothing happens.” 

He noted that the PCA wanted to help the Police Service.

“We are not here to attack the police. We want to assist the police so people would gain confidence and trust in them,” West said. 

He also said that if the PCA was successful in getting amendments, T&T would become a safer place. West also assured that the PCA had no police officers on its payroll. He also revealed that the PCA was financially independent and could initiate its own investigations. 

Outlining the proposed amendments, West said the PCA should have the power to stop and search people for weapons or evidence relevant to our investigations. 

“Many times police are in possession of illegal weapons and we want to be able to stop and search them,” he added. He also called for an amendment to the Firearms Act to include the director and deputy director in the list of people to have firearms in their possession. 

“We would like to be exempt from the Firearms Act. When we go to a crime scene we want to be able to take control of it and then bring it to Forensic Science Centre,” West said.

 He also said the Government should amend the Dangerous Drugs Act saying: “Sometimes when we go to a crime scene there is narcotics and we cannot possess it.”

West also said there was a need to amend the interception of Communications Act to be able to access information from any communications network.

“In the SSA Act we do not want to be able to tap phones. We want to be able to corroborate the information the complainant gives us,” he said.

West also called for an amendment to the Evidence Act to allow interviews via audio, visual recordings to be admissible in court.

“We also want power to preserve the scene of a crime. Many times if we are called by the police to a crime scene, we reach second so we don’t know what has happened before.  If we can get to the crime scene and secure it, then we would be able to check for gunshot residue,” West said.

He also called for power to resolve complaints informally through Alternate Dispute Resolution, amendment to the DNA Act, allowing PCA’s trained CSI officer to collect the DNA from the crime scene and amendment to the Coroners Act.

When petite and shy Dianna Sophia Lopez walked into the Chaguanas North Secondary School (CNSS) in 2014 to pursue her A-levels, she was faced with a culture shock.

Having studied in a non-disruptive and nurturing environment at the San Juan South Secondary School for five years, Lopez, 18, never expected she would have encountered indiscipline and unruly and disrespectful behaviour by students during her two-year stay at CNSS. 

In February, while Lopez was studying for Unit Two of her Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination, the school grabbed headline news when police were alerted to a planned gun attack by students.

This led to 24 students, who had behavioural issues, being removed and sent to the old Couva West Secondary School, where a programme was conducted by the Student Support Services Division to rehabilitate them. A number of the students were also identified as having criminal records, with many of them having pending matters before the courts. 

Lopez, of Enterprise, said the incident’s negativity pained her to no end. However on Wednesday, the bad image the school had attained in the last four months was overshadowed by two success stories—Lopez captured second place in the Lucille S Antoine Leadership Scholarship, while the school was credited for placing second in the RBC’s Judges Award for outstanding service to the community.

These two achievements were celebrated at the school by students and teachers with much fanfare. Following the awards, the school’s acting vice-principal, Rajandaye Thanoo, said teachers and administrative staff have seen an improvement in the behaviour of students since the incident.

“These awards are testimonies that good and positive things can come of our school,” Thanoo said.  The financial scholarship was established by Dr Gerard Antoine, who is the founder and medical director of the Caribbean Medical Providers Practicing Abroad.

Addressing students, Antoine, a Trinidadian, who travelled from Hawaii to present Lopez with her award, told the students that with hard work come great rewards.

He urged the students to follow in Lopez’s footsteps because of her academic accomplishments and mentoring and leadership skills. After collecting her US$500 prize, Lopez said she never expected to win.

“I took a gamble by writing an essay about myself and my leadership qualities. I was surprised when I found out that I was the recipient of a financial scholarship,” she said. 

She admitted that the environment, attitudes and behaviour of students at the school were totally different to where she studied before. “I really enjoyed going to school at San Juan South Secondary. The students were ambitious and had self-respect. Here was quite different.” One of the eye-openers for Lopez was students having low morale.

“There was also disrespect to the highest degree. It was disrespect to the principal and teachers. I was not accustomed to this so it was really a culture shock for me. We are trying to change this in the school.”

Since joining the school, Lopez has served as student representative on the local school board, chairman and vice president of the school’s student council, and as a prefect in Lower Six and Upper Six.

She was also a member of the school’s Environmental Club and the Sixth Form Association Services, who mentored Form One students.

Lopez said she planned to spend the US$500 on her mother Sita Lopez, who has to undergo a series of blood tests, since her health was not the best.

ABOUT THE SCHOLARSHIP

The Lucille S Antoine Leadership Scholarship encourages secondary school students to develop and their leadership abilities through practical experience, personal reflection and community involvement with mentors and peers. The scholarship, which is in its sixth year, serves as a vehicle to advance higher education to secondary school students between ages 11 to 18 in T&T.

In a small legal victory for former Fifa vice-president Jack Warner, a local judge has refused the United States government permission to join the judicial review lawsuit brought by Warner challenging Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi’s decision to sign off on an extradition request from the Justice Department.

Barack Obama’s Attorney General Loretta Lynch is seeking to have him extradited to face charges in the ongoing Fifa bribery scandal. 

Delivering an oral decision in the Port-of-Spain High Court yesterday afternoon, Justice James Aboud dismissed the US’s application to join the judicial review lawsuit. 

While Aboud ruled that the US had an interest in the outcome of the case before him, he said that its interest would be adequately dealt with by the Office of the Attorney General. 

“Its position as an affected party is not compromised by its exclusion because its interest and the AG’s appear to be identical,” Aboud said. 

He also ruled that the US would not “bring anything to the table” in the case as it admitted that it only wished to make legal submissions in the case. 

“The applicant will not be bringing to court any different perspective or new evidence as to make its contribution useful,” Aboud said. 

As part of his ruling Aboud ordered the US to pay Warner’s legal costs for defending its failed application. 

Speaking briefly with reporters after leaving the Hall of Justice in Port-of-Spain, Warner said he was happy with the decision, which he described as a “victory for the sovereignty of T&T”. 

“Ironically the US has to pay me. It’s long overdue,” Warner said.

Questions over procedure adopted AG’s office

Warner, in his claim, is questioning the procedure adopted by the Office of the Attorney General in signing off on the US’s request for his extradition made in May, last year, at the end of the US Department of Justice’s investigation into Fifa. He is facing fraud and money-laundering charges related to his two decades as a senior official of world football’s governing body. 

Earlier this year, Aboud granted Warner a stay of his ongoing extradition proceedings currently before Chief Magistrate Marcia Ayers-Caesar, which will expire after Aboud decides on the legality and constitutionality of his extradition. 

Warner’s attorneys are alleging that this country’s extradition treaty with the US contradicts the Extradition (Commonwealth and Foreign Territories) Act. They are claiming that, in passing the act, Parliament afforded citizens certain protections which are ignored by the international treaty. 

He is also complaining that Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi failed to give his attorneys a fair opportunity to make representations to him before he signed off on the Authority to Proceed, which was required to kick off the proceedings before Ayers-Caesar. 

Shortly after taking over the case from his predecessor Garvin Nicholas in September, last year, Al-Rawi extended the option to Warner. However, his attorneys allegedly refused as they said it was made a day before Al-Rawi was required to approve the extradition. 

Warner is also being represented by Fyard Hosein, SC, Nyree Alfonso, Rishi Dass and Anil Maraj, while the State is being represented by Douglas Mendes, SC, and Michael Quamina. Vanessa Gopaul and Theresa Hadad represented the US. 

The US Justice Department is making a legal bid to have a say on a preliminary aspect of its case, in which it seeks to extradite Warner to face charges, in a US court, on alleged corruption in FIFA. That is the wider case. The preliminary matter is Warner’s challenging the standing of the T&T Attorney General to assent to the extradition request. The Justice Department said it has a vested interest in any issue related Warner's extradition. The judge saw no need for the US authorities to get involved at this point. It does not necessarily signify that Warner will win his fight against extradition. If Warner loses this challenge, the extradition proceedings will restart.

The US now has two weeks to decide if it wants to appeal Aboud's decision. Warner's lawsuit continues on July 13 when attorneys will present submissions on a procedural application for Warner to call several foreign witnesses to testify in the case. A date yet to be set for the trial.