(Trinidad Express) Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of Anti-Crime Operations, Mervyn Richardson, last night expressed shock over the number of police officers who swooped down on CCN TV6 yesterday to execute a search warrant.
The cops were looking for a Crime Watch tape aired on October 31 which was handed to them by TV6 management.
Richardson said he was aware of the ongoing investigation into the airing of a video showing the rape of a 13-year-old girl on Ian Alleyne’s Crime Watch programme but didn’t know that more than 25 police officers were deployed to Express House. TV6 offices are also located at Express House on Independence Square, Port of Spain.
Caribbean Communications Network (CCN) chief executive officer, Shida Bolai, said yesterday the company had no issue with the police executing a warrant on the premises but was concerned with the show of force by the police since the company had been fully co-operating with the police with the investigation.
The video tape seized yesterday was aired after the controversial tape of the rape of the teenager.
Contacted last night, DCP Richardson said even though he hadn’t been able to speak with ASP Ajith Persad who led the execution of the warrant to find out what transpired at yesterday’s search, he was surprised to hear that approximately 25 officers were part of the exercise.
He quickly dismissed any notion that the actions of the police yesterday were an attack on the press.
“In the absence of knowing all the facts on what transpired earlier today (yesterday), let me make it clear that the police do not and will not interfere with members of the press in the execution of their duty. We are here to protect and serve and uphold the rule of law and we will do it in a fair and objective manner,” Richardson said.
He, however expressed shock at the number of officers who entered Express House to conduct the search.
“Oh God, so much people (police officers)? You say over 25 people were there even from the GEB and IATF? Hmmmmm.”
“I am surprised how come 25 men, as you have told me, because I have to take your word for it, were there. I am hearing about it but I’m trying to find out more about it,” Richardson said.
He added, “I’m trying to get on to Mr Persad to find out what happened and why so many officers but I can’t really comment too much on it until I get a briefing from Mr Persad on the situation.”
Police said they did not conduct any physical search because the company, just as on the first occasion when they had executed a warrant, co-operated and supplied the information they were looking for.
They said the manpower they had yesterday was actually insufficient to conduct a search at Express House given the size of the building and the volume of its staff members.
One officer, who asked not to be named said, “We had absolutely no knowledge where the information we were looking for would have been on the premises and the 25-plus personnel we had today (yesterday) was not even enough to search the entire building within the earliest possible time even if we had to search.”
Shortly after midday, the police officers from the Port of Spain CID, Criminal Records Office (CRO), Fraud Squad, Inter-Agency Task Force, Port of Spain Division Task Force and Audio Visual Unit, entered the company’s premises at Express House.
The officers, led by ASP Ajith Persad, Insp Harvey Jawahir, Sgt Rajesh Gokool, Cpl Andre Lopez and PCs Nirkoma Porter and Anderson Roberts, came with a warrant to search for material relating to airing of the Crime Watch video.
The police search was supervised by several senior members of staff which included Bolai and the company’s attorney, Faarees Hosein.
Police sources said they followed procedure and protocol before, during and after their searches while at the Express House. They said the warrant was read and shown to several members of management who took turns in supervising yesterday’s searches.
This is not the first time officers visited the offices of CCN TV6 with a search warrant. On November 21, Persad led a team of five officers to TV6 where they met with Bolai and Hosein.
