Cops link AK-47 rifle, ammo to planned disruption of May 24 polls
(Trinidad Express) Acting Police Commissioner James Philbert said on Friday that police have arrested five people believed to be part of a plot unearthed by security forces to disrupt the 2010 general election.
The arrests were made after lawmen raided a house in Carenage on Thursday night, where they recovered a deadly AK-47 rifle and T-shirts belonging to the New National Vision (NNV) political party led by Fuad Abu Bakr, the son of 1990 attempted coup leader Yasin Abu Bakr.
Among those arrested are a 15-year-old boy from Ariapita Road in St Ann’s; a 22-year-old woman of McKenzie Drive Point Cumana, Carenage; a 25-year-old former member of the T&T Coast Guard of Gonzales Road, Belmont; and two other suspects, ages 27 and 21, of Ariapita Roads St Ann’s, and McKenzie Drive, Point Cumana, Carenage, respectively.
Philbert disclosed the threat during an emergency press conference called yesterday evening at the Police Administration Building in Port of Spain. Police sources said the suspects are members of a particular religious organisation in the country. They were held at a house at McKenzie Drive, Point Cumana, Carenage.
“We have unearthed credible information which suggests that a certain group has expressed its intention to disrupt election proceedings, and acting on that information, as of last night, police from the Western Division responded to information and conducted searches, and in a particular house in the Carenage district. They arrested five persons where they found an AK-47 assault rifle, together with two magazines containing all together 48 rounds of ammunition,” he said.
Philbert, however, made it clear that the police will not stand idly by and allow any gang or group of persons to trample on the democratic rights and safety of its citizens, adding that his officers would act within the ambits of the law to ensure citizens enjoy the full democracy and the opportunity to exercise their rights as enshrined in the Constitution. “We want to reassure the public that the Police Service intends to carry out its mandate to the fullest extent of the law, and no one would be allowed, no one would be allowed to disrupt the elections campaigns (and) the elections proceedings. We intend to allow no one and no body and no group, whosoever they are, to stop us from exercising our democratic rights in Trinidad and Tobago,” he said.
Philbert also sent a message to other persons who are planning similar plots: “We know who these people are. We know what they intend to do. We intend to use all our resources and services available at our disposal to ensure that the elections are free and fair.
“All detractors. All detractors. We know who you are, we know where you are and we would act in the interest of the State to ensure that the peace of the nation is maintained.
“Our officers will act fiercely, fearlessly and fairly within the ambit of the law. We assure the law-abiding citizens of T&T that persons will feel the full brunt of the law if they intend to, and if they show their intentions to disrupt proceedings or disrupt any aspect of peace in Trinidad and Tobago, not only at this time, but before and after the elections as well,” he said.
Philbert added, “I want to reiterate that those who believe that they have some kind of moratorium over violence in our country, that we have had enough of that and we are moving swiftly to put it to an end and we are taking all the necessary action to do that.”
Philbert, who was flanked by his acting Deputies Gilbert Reyes and Raymond Craig, said a further search conducted on a vehicle, belonging to one of the arrested men, which was found on the compound, yielded 22 green T-shirts belonging to the NNV.
When asked by the Express if the police believe the persons held may be linked to a gang or local terrorist organisation, Philbert said, “I have given you enough information so that you can use you wisdom, knowledge and your intelligence on what this is all about. We continue our investigation, if we find that out we certainly would tell you, but we do have certain belief as well that which we will express sometime in the future.
“I have given you enough information here so that you can form your own conclusion,” Philbert said when further questioned on whether the police had any information linking the arrested persons to any political party.