The body of an unidentified man was found in Couva yesterday.

A photo was shared on social media showing the victim’s head almost severed from the body.

According to a police report, at about 8 am a passerby notified police officers that they found a body of a man lying face up at the side of the road at Exchange Branch Road.

The man was dressed in a pair of long blue jeans, a light blue vest and a plaid blue, white and khaki coloured short-sleeved shirt.

Police found several spent 9 mm casings near the body.

A party of police officers from the Central Division’s Task Force, Couva CID and Couva Police Station responded to the scene.

The body was viewed by a District Medical Officer and removed to the Forensic Science Centre, St James where an autopsy will be done once the body is identified.

Police are asking members of the public who can assist in identifying the body to come forward. They can contact 636-2333. The killing took the number of people 133.

In a separate shooting incident, at about 9 pm Garvin Leacock, 29, and Nolan Roach, 39, were both shot and wounded in a drive-by shooting which took place in Gonzales, on Saturday.

Both men are warded in stable condition at the Port-of-Spain General Hospital. Police are yet to determine a motive for that shooting.

Investigations are continuing.

Chaguanas Mayor Gopaul Boodhan says he intends to stamp out illegal drag racing in the borough after receiving complaints that the stretch of roadway on the northern side of the Ministry of Agriculture head office and along Connector Road, Charlieville are being used as drag strips at nights.

“This cannot be tolerated and it’s illegal, I am asking for people to refrain from this activity or feel the full brunt of the law. There are too many accidents and road deaths across T&T,” Boodhan said during an interview at the Borough head office on Friday.

He called on the relevant authorities to move in and stop the illegal racing activity before someone gets hurt.

Boodhan said the new drag strip is usually used after midnight.

He said he had also received numerous complaints from burgesses about the high level of illegal immigrants invading the borough. He said this has caused a major security and social concern.

Police recovered over a million dollars worth of cocaine and marijuana concealed in a car which had been left unattended at the Price Plaza, Chaguanas carpark. Police moved in on the vehicle after waiting for hours for someone to turn up.

Officers under the command of Snr Supt Inraj Balram of the Central Division found 14 packages of marijuana worth $200,000 as well as one package and 50 styrotex containers in crocus bags containing cocaine in the back seat of a white Nissan B-14 sedan on Sunday.

The cocaine had a street value of over $1 million.

Anyone with information on the bust can contact Crime Stoppers at 800-TIPS.

A man from Diego Martin drowned at the Blue Basin waterfall on Sunday and his body was recovered yesterday.

Relatives said Samuel Thomas, 20, of Bagatelle, decided to go for a “last dip” at the waterfall when he disappeared under the water.

His body resurfaced yesterday morning.

Speaking with the T&T Guardian yesterday at the Forensic Science Centre, Thomas’ mother Yvette Waldron-Thomas said he left home with friends to go to the waterfall after a game of football. She said the outing was usual.

“After 5 pm he and his friends decided to go and bathe to cool off. They came back out and my son said that before they leave he wanted to go back in one last time. That’s when he went under,” Waldron-Thomas said.

She said Thomas was the last of her three children.

“He had a beautiful personality...there were no words that could have ever described him. He was also very intelligent.”

Thomas was employed at Massy Stores. Funeral arrangements are yet to be made.

Six Venezuelan men who were allegedly held with 12 guns and 11 rounds of ammunition in a La Romaine house have been denied bail.

Elias Jose Carrion Gascon, Eliseo David Sanchez Malave, Dieogo Jose Fajarto, Heisver Jose Carrion Gascon, Robert Nicholas Leon Hernandez and Gerson Daniel Gonzalez Romero appeared before San Fernando Senior Magistrate Cherril Anne-Antoine.

The charges alleged that they were held on March 24 at Renn Avenue, La Romaine. The 12 firearms— comprising of eight revolvers and four pistols while the ammunition was .38 calibre.

Prosecutor Cleyon Seedan said he has to get directives from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions on how to proceed with the matter because of the quantum of firearms recovered.

Elias Gascon, his brother Heisver and Fajarto were also charged by PC Ramesh Chatramsingh with entering the country illegally.

Through an interpreter, Moonilal Ragbir, they pleaded guilty to that charge.

However, the other matters were adjourned to April 5.

They were remanded into custody.

The man charged with murdering eight-month pregnant Stacy Ann Campbell has been sent to St Ann’s Psychiatric Hospital for a mental evaluation.

Neil Modeste, 36, of Radix Village, Mayaro, who was arrested shortly after the crime was scheduled to appear before Senior Magistrate Rae Roopchand in the Mayaro Magistrates Court charged Modeste’s murder yesterday. He refused to be taken to court, police said.

In his absence, the magistrate remanded him for a mental evaluation.

Modeste, who has a history mentally illness, allegedly attacked Campbell, a mother of four, when she went to the suspect’s home in Radix Village to visit his relative, Yvonne Modeste, on March 19.

She was strangled and struck on the head with a clay brick.

Campbell died in the yard. Her funeral service took place last Friday at the Seventh-day Adventist Church at Peter Hill in Mayaro.

Investigations were supervised by Sgt Anil Maharaj and Cpl Suresh Ramsahai, of Homicide Bureau of Investigations Region, 2 and Modeste was charged by PC Adrian Hercules on Saturday after receiving instructions from Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Joan Honore-Paul.

The matter was adjourned to April 9.

The Appeal Court yesterday dismissed a lawsuit filed by environmental activist group Fishermen and Friends of the Sea (FFOS) paving the way for construction of the Churchill Roosevelt Highway extension to near the environmentally sensitive Aripo Savannas to continue.

In a written ruling, Appellate Judges Gregory Smith, Andre Des Vignes and Charmaine Pemberton agreed that the challenge of the Environmental Management Authority process in granting a Certificate of Environmental Clearance had been filed outside of the three-month statutory limit.

The ruling stated that the court felt that there was no justification for extending the time limit, as such a move would impact the rights of third parties, including the Ministry of Works and Transport and contractor Kallco, and that would be detrimental to good administration.

Kallco was awarded the contract for the first phase of the project between Cumuto and Guaico. The 5 km segment is estimated to cost $400 million.

While the judges agreed that there was undue delay in filing the case, they had a difference of opinion on the merits of the complaints raised by the FFOS.

Smith claimed that the group’s challenge on the public consultations for the terms and reference of the CEC and the EMA’s assessment of the impact of the project were arguable, but Des Vignes and Pemberton disagreed as they failed to find merit in any of the 14 complaints raised by the group.

“Even though I am of the view that there are merits, they are not strong enough to overrule and bypass the public policy considerations,” Smith said.

Immediately after the judgment was delivered, the group’s lawyer Anand Ramlogan, SC, made an oral application for an interim injunction pending his client’s application for conditional leave to file a final appeal with the United Kingdom-based Privy Council.

Ramlogan claimed that the injunction was essential as the resumption of construction would cause irreversible environmental damage to the flora and fauna of the Aripo Savannas forest reserve, which bounds the proposed route.

The group had previously received interim injunctions from High Court judge Kevin Ramcharan and the Appeal Court, which only allowed for minor work while the judicial review lawsuit and corresponding appeal were being determined.

Ramlogan’s application was strongly opposed by the ministry’s lawyer Ian Benjamin, who claimed that the group was entitled to apply for the injunction in December, last year, but chose to do so one week after the project commenced on January 8.

He stated that the lawsuit had already cost the State millions of dollars and had derailed the project, which was initially expected to be completed in 10 months.

“We already had substantial delays and very few concessions. The project involves the expenditure of scarce public resources and this inflicts a financial burden on the public purse for which there is nothing to show,” Benjamin said.

The Appellate Judges agreed with Benjamin and advised Ramlogan to reapply when his application for conditional leave to the Privy Council, comes up for hearing before another appeal panel. The application is expected to be filed this morning.

FFOS was also represented by Jayanti Lutchmedial, Alvin Pariagsingh and Robert Abdool-Mitchell. Deborah Peake, SC, and Ravi Heffes-Doon represented the EMA, while Kallco was represented by Douglas Mendes, SC, and Devesh Maharaj.

In a statement, after the ruling the group stated: “FFOS is deeply disappointed by today’s ruling. We are determined, however, to explore all legal means of recourse to protect this natural heritage site which belongs to all citizens of Trinidad and Tobago. FFOS will be urgently seeking leave to go before the Privy Council in England to appeal this judgment as we strongly believe in the merits of our case. FFOS will persevere until ecological and environmental justice is served for the voiceless communities of the Aripo Savannas.”

The family of a Venezuelan national who was shot dead by police are disputing a police account of a shootout and says an autopsy report showing that the victim was shot repeatedly from behind supported their claim.

Police had initially said that the man, identified yesterday as Marco Antonio Diaz Gonzales, 31, was shot on March 21, in Diego Martin during an armed confrontation.

Gonzales’ family representative, David Edghill, an attorney and immigration consultant, said the autopsy results do not support the police account of a shootout.

According to an autopsy report, Gonzales was shot once in the back of the neck, four times in the mid-back region and once to the lower back. The autopsy was conducted by forensic pathologist Dr Hughvon Des Vignes at the Forensic Science Centre.

According to a police report, at about 11.30 pm officers were responding to an all-points bulletin to be on the lookout for a black Yaris motorcar which evaded a police roadblock exercise in Diego Martin.

The vehicle was intercepted near St Lucien Road and as the officers were approaching the vehicle they claimed they were shot at, and they returned fire, police stated.

The two occupants of the vehicle, a man and a woman, both Venezuelan nationals were shot. They were both taken to the Port-of-Spain General Hospital where the man succumbed to his injuries while undergoing treatment. Police said they recovered a loaded pistol and an undisclosed amount of US currency in the vehicle. The injured woman was identified only as a 21-year-old law student Monica. She was shot in the face and is still warded in a serious condition at the Port-of-Spain General Hospital.

Edghill said from his information, Gonzales drove past a red traffic light and was stopped by police. He said he believed that Gonzales got frightened when the officers came out and pointed their guns at him and he sped off. Edghill said Gonzales arrived in Trinidad via Piarco International Airport and was here to import food items so he could send it across to Venezuela, which is in the throes of an economic and social crisis.

“He went to the Immigration to extend his stay but was refused and because of that he overstayed and when the police stopped him that night and pointed the guns at him he was frightened so he sped off. I believe that the police shot him when his vehicle crashed. There was no shootout. Even the girl was shot in the face when she looked back at the police officers. I don’t even know where that gun came from that the police said they found,” Edghill said.

Asked about the US currency found strapped on the woman, Edghill said it was money they were going to use for Gonzales’ commercial business. He said the money was secured to her body “maybe because being afraid of getting robbed.”

Edghill said that he funded the airfare and accommodation for Gonzales’ wife, Merlay Garban, to come to Trinidad for her to identify her husband’s body.

“They have nothing. They have no money. He leaves his wife and two children— four and two years old. Now, I have to find US$36,000 to have his body repatriated to Venezuela so he could be given a good Christian funeral.”

“The girl, who is in hospital is no longer pretty-faced because the police shoot her in her face for no reason. She had one year again to be called to the Bar back in Venezuela,” he said.

Edghill said despite the unfortunate circumstances, he has chosen not to take any action against the police.

“Truth is we are not going to win against the police force here in T&T. We are not going to attack the police because it have good police and I am good friends with them and there are good immigration officers who have a heart and understand the situation in Venezuela.”

Edghill, however, noted that he strongly believes that T&T immigration officers should receive proper training to deal with Venezuelans and other Latin people because there is that “thin line” in violating human rights.

He also noted that a Statement of Refuse Order should be done by “someone in higher authority who is highly qualified and trained even in psychology.”

The Police Complaints Authority (PCA) has launched an independent investigation into a video showing a uniformed police officer allegedly accepting a $100 bribe for marijuana.This was yesterday confirmed by PCA Director David West.

West said: “Yes. We just signed off on it today and I don’t want to say much.” He said he could not divulge much because he did not want to pre-empt the investigators.

The video, which is over one-minute, shows the driver of the vehicle, who was dressed in a red jersey, driving onto a major road and calling out to the officer. The man making the secretly-recorded video said it was a “social experiment for T&T to see how police officers does be taking bribe.”

When he stopped his vehicle he narrated that he was going to give $100 to the officer and ask him for weed.Moments after the officer, who was dressed in uniform, walked up to the driver’s side and spoke to the driver. The driver asked him for weed, to which the officer replied: “How much you want?”

The driver then told the officer that he needed a pound. The officer said that he could not have gotten that amount but added that he could have only provided a quarter of an ounce but would have to go to his home to get it for him.

In a bid to clear his name, in a 30-second video, a man who identified himself as the officer depicted in the video, admitted that he had a few drinks and did not hear the man in the video say weed and added that he thought he said “seeds.”

“I am the Police with the video that gone viral. I just want to clear my name right? I had a couple drinks and did not hear him say weed, I thought it was seed. I plant grass. I plant all different kind of trees and thing and I thought it was seed he say. I am clearing my name. It was $100 for seeds. He really try to set me up dey.”

The Police Service did not provide an update on the investigation yesterday. On Sunday, TTPS’s head of corporate communication, Ellen Lewis said the Professional Standards Bureau had been detailed to investigate the case.ASP Micheal Jackman, on Sunday, described the video as “troubling and “a source of great concern to the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service.”

The medical student who used a pair of dumbells to smash the historic statue of the apostle St Paul and the revered Crucifix at the Cathedral of Immaculate Conception during Palm Sunday mass said he was acting on visions from God.

“The vision told him to come and destroy the statues,” said Monsignor Christian Pereira, as he recounted the incident which left members of the congregation shaken.

He said: “God was speaking to him in different ways, some people call those visions hallucinations, but how do we know if God is speaking to you.”

Pereira said while the student, who is from Central Trinidad, had committed a criminal act, which had consequences, his preference was to give the student “time and help to repair himself.” He said while the statue and the Crucifix will cost money to repair, they were material things.

“How do we repair a broken man,” he asked.

“I am grateful to God that it was not a gun he walked into the church with,” Pereira said.

The student is a past pupil of Fatima College was taken to the Besson Street Police Station before being released into his mother’s custody. He was accepted at UWI Mona campus, in Jamaica but withheld from going there and began pursuing his medical degree at the Faculty of Medicine, in Trinidad.

In a telephone interview yesterday, Pereira admitted that he was “disappointed” with what had happened during mass.

Eyewitness Aaron Henry, the chief executive officer of SWAT estate police, said he observed the student as he walked into the church. Henry said the student was wearing a shirt as he walked in. At the time most of the congregation were outside the church getting their palms blessed in celebration of Palm Sunday.

“I was standing by the door in the Cathedral when he walked into the church. I saw him wearing a shirt and he was heading to the back of the bathroom area. A few minutes later we heard the sound of the statues being smashed and people shouting. He was standing on the altar destroying the statue of St Paul and the Crucifix with two dumbbells,” Henry said. He said the student was now wearing a black tee-shirt.

Henry said the student did not appear to be in his right senses.

“He kept saying he was following instructions from his father. The act seems to be something more spiritual. I don’t know if he was demon possessed. I didn’t interview him. I just handed him over to the State police. I had no discussions whatsoever with him to determine if he was demon possessed,” Henry said.

He said the elderly people who were sitting inside the church were alarmed by the attack. Henry said his company will continue to provide assistance to the church once they are called upon to do so.

Henry along with Dr Roberto Osbourne and an altar servant managed to subdue the student, placed him in a car and then took him to the Besson Street Police station after the attack.

Pereira said the incident had a wider meaning.

“It just shows how society is not supporting and caring for our young people, taking them through a lot of very challenging and painful experiences without providing the right support system to help them to deal with the challenges they are facing.”

Pereira said a lot of young people have been breaking down emotionally, mentally, spiritually and physically, which we are not dealing with.

He said society, mainly adults, had to do some introspection.

“How we treat with one another as an adult was very destructive to young people.”

Pereira offered to help the young man spiritually, but could not say what triggered him to behave the way he did.

Yesterday, Pereira said he spoke to the young man’s mother who was willing to pay for the damages.

“We are not expecting her to do it (pay for the damages) because she has to find money for psychological care. The mother is a teacher struggling with her children. She has her own challenges in life. I am not sure if the mother is the only person or adult in the young man’s life.”

Asked if the church was going to increase security in light of the incident, Pereira said he did not think it was necessary.

“All of us have to look out for one another,” he said.

The burnt body of a man was found in the forest of the Maracas/St Joseph hills yesterday.

According to a police report, at about 1 pm, officers who were involved in a marijuana eradication exercise at Wharf Trace discovered the body.

Police believe that the man, who remains unidentified may have either been farmer or was brought to the area, killed and burnt.

The body was removed to the Forensic Science Centre.

Investigations are continuing.

National Security Minister Edmund Dillon is denying reports that he was found guilty in a civil case in New York, describing the reports as “erroneous” and “libellous.”

Several social media articles over the weekend claimed Dillon was found guilty of defrauding an alleged incapacitated person, Neville Piper, but the Minister says there has been “no determination” in the matter. Piper has been described as a close friend of the Point Fortin MP for over 45 years.

One of the articles claims Dillon was found “guilty of fraud – ordered by a US Supreme Court to repay every cent stolen.”

Another claims “restraining order issued against Trinidad National Security Minister by New York court. Some of those reports have not been authenticated, as the next hearing on this matter is set for April 4.

According to Dillon’s attorney, on August 12, 2017, Piper transferred an undivided half interest of his million-dollar apartment located in Manhattan, New York to the Minister.

“This deed transfer was done willingly, and the transfer documents, were executed by Mr Piper, in the presence of counsel, and in the presence of an independent witness,” the statement said.

A source familiar with the matter in New York told Guardian Media no determination has yet been made in the matter.

Dillon issued a statement to clear the air on the issue yesterday.

In a three-page statement, he said: “The court has not yet commenced any enquiry into wrong doing, much less arrived at any decision or judgment of any kind of wrongdoing on my part.”

He adds, “contrary to salacious and erroneous media reports, I am not involved in any criminal court indictment, and there has been no conviction of any kind against me.”

“I would like to caution the media that it must be responsible in its reporting. More importantly, I urge the population to resist any attempt by those intent on making mischief and bringing my good name into disrepute. This is a clear case of maliciousness perpetuated by those with an intent on publishing innuendos and uncorroborated facts. I wish to advise all such individuals that this is highly libellous and they should be guided accordingly. The matter is taking its normal course through the New York State court system,” the statement said.

Dillon is mentioned in civil proceedings in the New York Supreme Court, although he is not a party to the matter.

He has been accused by relatives of Piper, an 88-year-old man, of fraudulently transferring a New York property to his name and misappropriation of funds.

Dillon maintains those claims were made “without any evidence whatsoever.” According to him, the claims made by the temporary guardian Reginald Asiedu Esq. “are totally bereft of any factual data.”

While a New York city court evaluator’s report states that Piper did not recall signing over his property, the document also suggests that Piper was also opposed to relatives intervening on his behalf.

As of now, Guardian Media understands Dillon has been asked to vacate power of attorney which is normal in these proceedings.

The source said that allegations of unauthorised cash withdrawals will likely arise at the next hearing in New York and the temporary guardian will have to provide evidence of such.

The man accused of murdering four people in La Brea almost two weeks ago was taunted by the relatives of the victims as he appeared in court yesterday charged for the crime which prompted a public outcry over frequency of domestic violence murders.

“Leh we see you face, nah boy,” a relative of the one of the victim’s shouted from the public gallery in the Point Fortin First Magistrates Court as Rodger Mattison was being led from the courtroom after he appeared before the magistrate.

Two police officers, stationed in the court, ordered “silence in the court.” Mattison ignored the relative.

Mattison, 39, a labourer, of Salick Trace, Guapo, kept his head bent as he walked down the steps directly in front of the public gallery.

Mattison appeared before Senior Magistrate Rajendra Rambachan charged with the four murders.

The charges alleged that on a date between March 11 and March 14 at Khani Settlement, Sobo Village, La Brea he murdered Olivia Chapman, 16, her mother Abigail Jones-Chapman, 41, her friend Michaela Mason, 14, and retired teacher Michael Scott, 70.

Their bodies were discovered in the downstairs apartment of Scott’s house on March 13.

Scott was beaten to death while the throats of the other victims were slit. Jones-Chapman, a school teacher and her three children lived downstairs Scott’s house. Jones-Chapman had allegedly broken off her relationship with Mattison and days prior to their murders had filed a domestic violence report against Mattison at the La Brea Police Station.

Three police officers have been suspended pending an investigation into an allegation that they failed to respond effectively.

Police had launched a manhunt for Mattison, who was eventually arrested in Valencia on March 18, walking along a deserted road near St Albans Quarry. Following investigations supervised by ASP Lucia Winchester and Insp Darryl Corrie, instructions were received by the Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Joan Honore-Paul to charge him.

Sgt Hemraj Sirju of the Homicide Bureau Region 3 laid the charges.

When he appeared before Magistrate Rambachan he kept his head slightly bent and did not say anything.

Prosecutor Sgt Jesse Jitmansingh told the magistrate that no State attorney has been appointed as yet and an interim file was sent to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.

In answer to questions asked by Mattison’s attorney Fareed Ali, Sirju said he could not say when the interim file was submitted, but he anticipated that the actual file will be completed in about a month.

The magistrate said once a State attorney is appointed they will know whether the State will be proceeding with the inquiry via paper committal or by calling witnesses to testify.

Rambachan told Mattison he cannot get bail on those charges and adjourned the matter to April 23.

Jones-Chapman’s mother, Christine Jones, were among the relatives present in court.

It’s been a week since mother of seven Kunti Deopersad went missing and her family is worried sick that she may have been kidnapped.

This after her husband, Tilkee Gopaul, received a call from her saying that she was snatched by four men.

Gopaul, 61, of Oropouche South Trace, Barrackpore said he has not been able to eat or sleep since he heard his wife’s distress call.

The couple had been together for 23 years and Gopaul said he was very concerned about her safety. He said that Deopersad, 39, suffered from a skin condition and left home on March 20 to go to the Princes Town Health facility.

Gopaul, who is retired from the Princes Town Regional Corporation said when Deopersad failed to come home, he went to the Barrackpore Police Station that same night to lodge a missing person’s report.

However, he was advised to go to the Princes Town to make a report which he later did.

Around midday, on March 21, Gopaul said he received a call from his distressed wife who said she and another woman had been abducted. She said they were walking along the road close to the health facility when a car pulled up and four men snatched them.

The distressed mother said she did not know where she was being kept. The call was later cut and Gopaul said he tried calling back several times but there was no answer.

Police later traced the call and found it was made from a location in San Fernando. However, no further contact was made with the family. Gopaul said they were not wealthy and did not have money to pay a ransom.

Gopaul said he wanted the police to take the matter seriously and locate his wife. Members of the Anti-Kidnapping Unit was supposed to contact the family but never did, Gopaul said.

Her daughter, Savi, said she did not think her mother abandoned them. She said they did not have any disagreements. Another relative, who requested anonymity, said that Gopaul and Deopersad lived together for 24 years in a common-law union. He said she was close with her family and Deopersad was not the type to lime and party.

“We are very sure she did not leave home on her own. She would never leave her husband and children. She is not that kind of woman. She is a devoted wife and mother,” the relative said.

Police said yesterday that the matter was under investigation and they could not divulge any details.

Anyone with information on Deopersad’s whereabouts can contact Crimestoppers at 800-TIPS.

Used-car dealer Sheron Sukhdeo was shot and killed last night in an apparent ambush along Caroni Savannah Road, Charlieville.

Sukhdeo was reportedly shot repeatedly near the home of his motherin- law and taken for treatment at the Chaguanas Health Facility.

He owned a string of used-car lots which advertised the sale of luxury vehicles as well as a fleet of high-end vehicles including Lamborghini, Bentley and Mercedes Benz.

Last year, he was hauled before the court after his wife, Rachael, posted images of domestic abuse on social media. She refused to testify and the charges were dropped.

Sukhdeo had been before the courts charged with receiving two stolen vehicles and is on $200,000 bail. There were reports of another fatal shooting in Never Dirty, Morvant last night after a man was shot dead on the street.

Coast Guard officers and crew from two other vessels responded last night to a mayday call from a water taxi transporting 63 passengers and customer service representatives to Tobago after the vessel stalled off the coast of Blanchisseuse shortly after 6 pm

Photos of panicked passengers, wearing life jackets, and a video of a crew member calling for calm, soon began circulating on social media.

The passengers were onboard the Trini Flash which left Scarborough on its journey to Port-of-Spain yesterday.

The Port’s use of the water taxis on the seabridge commenced yesterday and the Trini Flash was on its second journey for the day when there was a report of a fire on board. Nidco in a statement last night said that there was a fire in the ceiling of the engine room which was contained. The vessel is usually used to transport passengers from San Fernando to Port-of-Spain on the calm Gulf of Paria waters.

The water taxis were put into use to supplement travel for passengers during the Easter period after the two ferry passengers vessels, the T&T Express and the T&T Spirit remain down for repairs.

The vessel made a voyage to Tobago without any problems, however, on its return to Port-of-Spain, thick black smoke was seen coming from the exhaust system before the vessel stalled just off the North Coast.

A distress call was sent out to the T&T Coast Guard shortly after 6 pm, who responded along with the Cabo Star and another unknown vessel. The passengers and customer service representatives were eventually transferred to the Cabo Star.

Shortly after 8 pm, Works and Transport Minister, Rohan Sinanan confirmed to the T&T Guardian that the vessel sailed to Staubles Bay Chaguaramas.

Asked if there was a fire aboard the vessel or whether it was taking in water as reported, Sinanan said: “I was told that the taking in water was not true but not until the vessel is brought back here and an assessment is done then I would have further details. I cannot confirm the fire for now.”

In a video on social media a passenger was heard saying: “We putting on lifejacket on the water taxi. It shut down at sea.”

Another video showed passengers being assisted onto the Cabo Star.

“This is what we have to put up with on a daily basis…the boat leave late, late…look at drama these people going through. The torment, the fright out in this big ocean,” one passenger said.

A passenger, who spoke with CNC3 under the condition of anonymity, said that an hour into the sailing, passengers began observing smoke coming from the water-taxi and the vessel came to a stop.

The passenger said an announcement was made and asked all passengers to remain seated.

Passengers were assured they would be kept informed of all developments.

However, the passenger said that after 30 minutes at sea, no help had arrived.

CNC3 spoke with Marketing and Public Relations Manager at the T&T Inter-Island Transportation Company Vilma Lewis-Cockburn who confirmed the water-taxi vessel was experiencing some issues and suggested that Nidco be contacted for more details.

Chairman of the Port Authority Lyle Alexander, during an interview with CNC3 news, last night said that the PATT is faced with challenges, however, he assured that they are doing everything to “fix them.”

“The Port Authority definitely has its challenges. We have to work our way through them. We have to understand what exactly they are and do everything that we can to fix them. To put right these problems that we have identified.”

Only this week, the Port Authority announced that the water taxi would accommodate inter-island passenger over the Easter period until Tuesday.

Trini Flash, which was used to operate the San Fernando to Port-of-Spain service, was chosen to service the inter-island service because both the T&T Express and the T&T Spirit are currently on dry-dock for repairs and maintenance.

On February 11, 2017, the T&T Guardian reported that the Trini Flash was faulty and had to be replaced. It was disclosed that the vessel was back then experiencing prolonged sailing times.

There had been numerous complaints from passengers travelling aboard the Trini Flash, which was at the time said to be operating with several mechanical problems.

As a result, the time spent travelling between San Fernando and Port-of-Spain had increased from 45 minutes to 90 minutes.

Tobago Forwards leader Christlyn Moore, commenting on the situation, said in a social media post that she predicted that “these vessels would put lives in peril.”

“The unfolding situation where the water taxi has shut down mid-ocean and is taking in water with souls on board is too frightening to contemplate. I’m praying that everyone is physically all right and will have more to say after being assured everyone is safe,” she stated.

Herpetologists from the University of the West Indies (UWI) have been called in to track a 12-foot anaconda sighted at the Aripo Livestock Station in Aripo on Monday after it was disturbed while trying to swallow a seven-foot caiman.

The snake was spotted by a staff member at the Ministry of Agriculture facility as it was about to ingest caiman which it had constricted moments earlier.

In a telephone interview yesterday, animal health assistant Neshal Rampersad likened to a scene as a National Geographic documentary or a movie.

“There were doing some pasture maintenance and one (of the workers) went by the pond to urinate. That was when he saw it right in front of him,” Rampersad said.

Rampersad said that one of the workers prodded the snake and the reptile released its intended meal and disappeared under the brackish water. The recorded the event on cellphones. The workers later pulled the caiman’s carcass from the small pond.

Rampersad said that he and colleagues were shocked by the sighting as it was the largest snake they had ever seen and it was the first time they had seen an anaconda in the wild.

“We have dealt with snakes before but this is the first time we encountered an anaconda. Caiman does be around the station but that does not be a problem,” Rampersad said

Asked whether he and coworkers were afraid to return to the pond after the sighting, Rampersad said no.

“The thing is the snake has been there a while because it is 12-foot long. It never bothered anybody before so those guys are just being a little more cautious in the pastures,” Rampersad said.

He also said that the station’s livestock was not in danger from the snake as they are kept in indoor pens when not grazing in the pastures and had never been attacked before.

The sighting comes almost six years after a 17-foot and 220-pound specimen, one of the largest found in the southern hemisphere within the last 30 years, was found in Caroni.

President of the T&T Zoological Society Gupte Lutchmedial said yesterday that battles between two of the country’s largest amphibious predators were common.

“Small caimans are a normal part of an anaconda’s diet, the anaconda will apply constriction to kill the caiman, however, it will take a very large anaconda to swallow this size of caiman. Caimans will eat snakes if the opportunity presents itself,” Lutchmedial said.

Contacted yesterday, Kristopher Rattansingh, of Wildlife and Environmental Protection of T&T, said that anacondas were often killed by people due to their formidable size and unfortunate reputation.
If seen, members of the public should avoid contact and call in experts, to remove the non-venomous reptile.

Members of the public who wish to contact Wildlife and Environmental Protection of T&T for the removal of wildlife from populated areas can reach them at 341-9983, 748-7100, 497-3373 or 748-3936.

Investigators probing the murder of used-car dealer Sheron Sukhdeo said a family member can help them solve the case.

Homicide officers said Sukhdeo, 33, had many enemies and had been repeatedly threatened as his empire grew, purchasing million-dollar properties, a fleet of sport and luxury vehicles, and even a private plane.

Yesterday, at about 2 pm patrolling officers along the Caroni Savannah Road, near Sheron’s Auto, intercepted a vehicle and found a black plastic bag containing over $20,000 in cash from the occupants.

One of the officers told the T&T Guardian they searched one of Sheron’s used-car compounds as they received information that two men were seen walking among the vehicles.

“We are not sure if they hid anything there, so we had to search. We found nothing but we are going to escort the men to the station because they have to answer to the money and why they were in the area.”

Up to press time the men were still at the police station.

Another officer said that patrols will be beefed up in the area following Sukhdeo’s murder on Monday night outside his mother-in-law’s Charlieville home.

According to an officer, one of the cases believed to have a connection to Sukhdeo’s murder was the murder of one of his former close acquaintances Jean Pierre Assee, of Sierra Vista Drive, O’Meara Road and Nicky Joseph, 31, of Cunupia.

Assee was shot outside his business place at Ramcharan Street, St Augustine in a drive-by shooting in December 2015. Assee, who was shot in the left arm, chest and both thighs, succumbed to his injuries in January 2016.

At Assee’s wake, on January 24, 2016, Joseph, 31, of Madras Street, Cunupia was murdered in similar circumstances. Someone called him on his cellphone and as he stepped onto the road away from the wake he was shot and killed in a drive-by shooting.

In July 2017, Jelani Martin, 24, who was described as a key member of the Unruly Isis gang was killed by police outside the home of one of Sukhdeo’s relatives at Caroni Savannah Road.

It was reported that Martin was standing outside Sukhdeo’s relatives house when he was spotted by members of the Central Operations Unit. It was reported that Martin had gone to the house to collect tax (a form of payment businessmen make to criminals to forego being robbed and kidnapped).

Police said Martin, was originally from Farfan Street, Diego Martin, but moved to Crown Trace in Enterprise.

Police found $22,000 on Martin.

In November 2017, Sukhdeo’s brother, Sheldon and a female companion were both shot during a drive-by shooting in San Fernando. They survived the gun attack.

Sukhdeo, the father of two, was shot three times, was taken to the Chaguanas Health Facility where he died while undergoing treatment.

According to a police report, at about 8.30 pm Sukhdeo was liming with his wife, Rachael, and in-laws when he received a phone call.

Sukhdeo walked out of the yard on the sidewalk at the corner of Mahabir Street and Caroni Savannah Road still on the phone.

Police said the occupants of a white Nissan B-14 drove past and opened fire on him. They sped off. Sukhdeo was taken to the Chaguanas District Health Facility where he died while undergoing treatment.

News of Sukhdeo’s death spread quickly across social media.

Scores of people, including family members, close friends and employees of Sukhdeo gathered outside of the health facility to render support and to pay their respects. There was also a presence of armed uniformed and plainclothes police officers at strategic points along the Southern Main Road and around the health facility building.

At the Forensic Science Centre in St James yesterday, Rachael, arrived in a darkly-tinted black vehicle by her close relatives. The body was viewed by her and one of Sukhdeo’s brothers.

A week after she was reportedly abducted by four men, Kunti Deopersad returned home yesterday after she managed to escape from her captors using a hairpin to unlock the door.

Deopersad account of the unusual kindness from her abductors, while she was locked in a room with another woman for a week, has left investigators confused.

The 39-year-old woman said she was fed vegetarian food at her request and was kept blindfolded for most of the time so that she could not see the face of her abductors.

She was never physically harmed even though she stole a chance to call her husband. Days later, Deopersad said, she was able to escape by picking a lock using a hairpin.

Sitting on a chair at her Oropouche South Trace, Barrackpore home, Deopersad said she returned home around 9.30 am and was relieved to see her husband, Tilkee Gopaul, 61, and their seven children—aged 13 to 22. The couple has been together for 23 years.

Recalling the ordeal, Deopersad said she went to the Princes Town Health Facility to get medicine for a skin condition on March 21.

Around 4.30 pm that day, Deopersad said she walked down to Market Street, Princes Town to get a taxi to return home. However, she said four men cornered her and whispered to her to get into a car. Asked if anyone was around, Deopersad said no.

When asked how nobody was around the Market Street at that hour, Deopersad said there were people but nobody heard what happened because the abductors were speaking quietly. She said the four men put her and another woman in the car and blindfolded them. The abductors were sitting in the middle of the back seat while the two women were sitting on either side of the window in the back seat, Deopersad said.

Asked why she made no attempt to jump out of the car or to scream, Deopersad said she was afraid. After driving for half an hour, Deopersad said they were taken into a room. She could not hear anything the men were saying because they were talking softly, she added. She said she was kept in the dark room for seven days.

Asked whether she had conversations with the other abducted woman, Deopersad said no. She said at times the woman was not blindfolded so she was unaware whether the woman was affiliated with the abductors. However, she was never ill-treated.

“I told them I was vegetarian and they would buy rice and chow mien or roti for me. And they would give us soft drinks and water. They did not hurt us in any way,” she said.

A day after the abduction, Deopersad said one of the abductors accidentally left their phone on a table in the room and she sent a call me request to her husband. She said he called her back and she told him she was abducted. The men eventually took away the phone from her but they never showed her any violence.

Around 9 am yesterday, Deopersad said the four men eventually left the room. She said the other woman took out a hairpin and together they picked the lock.

She said she was able to run out of the house and followed a track which took her into the heart of Princes Town.

Deopersad said she did not go to the police immediately but instead took a taxi and went home.

Her husband later called the police who took Deopersad in for an interview.

Her eldest daughter said yesterday that she was concerned that her mother was never taken for a medical examination by the police.

“We don’t think the police is taking this seriously,” the daughter said.

Gopaul said he was relieved that Deopersad had come home. He said his wife was traumatised about the ordeal and did not remember a lot of what happened to her.

Police said yesterday they were investigating Deopersad’s story.

In 2016, a La Brea woman, Heather Barriteau, disappeared after leaving her home to do some shopping in San Fernando.

Her husband mounted a search to find her saying she was kidnapped but surveillance footage later showed her drinking at the Carat Shed Bar on Mucurapo Street, San Fernando, with a male companion.

She was then seen liming at a parang in Marabella.
The woman later admitted that she fabricated the story.

The 26-year-old man accused of murdering mother of four Anita Bahadur, last week in San Juan, has claimed to have been beaten by police after his arrest.

Aaron Garcia, also known as Tsion Fieani, of Mt Hope Road, Mt Hope, appeared before acting Chief Magistrate Maria Busby-Earle-Caddle in the Port-of-Spain Magistrate’s Court charged with stabbing his ex-girlfriend Bahadur to death during an altercation at the Croisee in San Juan, last Wednesday in front scores of people.

He was held by three people after the incident and beaten before being turned over to the police.

Dressed in a pink T-shirt, Garcia, who is barely five feet tall, stood silently in the prisoner’s enclosure of the court as the charge was being read.

As soon as he was given an opportunity to address Busby-Earle-Caddle, Garcia claimed that he was beaten by four police officers at the San Juan Sub Station after he handed over by a group of men, who detained him shortly after the incident.

“Police damage me real bad. They hit me with a gun butt in my face and even threaten to kill me,” Garcia said.

He claimed he was punched several times in his head until his ears started to bleed.

“I collect a boot to my mouth that take out my two front teeth,” Garcia said. He also claimed that the officers broke his glasses.

“I could hardly hear in my right ear and my left side is continually paining,” Garcia said.

Asked by Busby-Earle-Caddle which of his teeth were damaged, Garcia smiled. His silent response drew chuckles from almost all present in the courtroom including Busby-Earle-Caddle.

Although he was able to recount the details of the alleged attack, he did not have the names or regimental numbers of any of his attackers.

After Garcia detailed the alleged abuse, he was asked if he had additional concerns.

Garcia continuously sobbed as he mumbled a seemingly incriminating statement. He was immediately stopped by Busby-Earle-Caddle, who reminded him that he was not called upon to plead to the charge.

Garcia then retracted the statement.

Garcia’s claims appeared to be corroborated by photographs circulated on social media of him bleeding after he was taken to the station.

The men who held Garcia after witnessing the incident, admitting to beating Garcia before handing him over to police, when interviewed, last week. Garcia did not make any allegations against the men who held him.

In response to the allegations, police prosecutor Insp Wayne Mohammed said all he could confirm was that Garcia was taken for medical treatment at the hospital while in police custody. Garcia, who was not represented by an attorney, is expected to reappear in court on April 24.