(Trinidad Express) At least 50 Trinidadians have flown to Syria to join the terrorist organisation Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) within the last several months.
Intelligence sources as well as those in a certain religious sect have confirmed the local fighters have been leaving the country to head to Syria over the last few months. Minister of National Security Gary Griffith when contacted about this several weeks ago stated, “ I will neither confirm or deny this.” On TV6’s Morning Edition yesterday, Griffith, however, said, “Trinidad and Tobago must never be seen or believe we are isolated in anyway from global terrorism.” Griffith said this was the reason the Government has been trying to introduce electronic fingerprint technology for those entering the country. “If you put fingerprints there we are following the trail of individuals based on a watch list worldwide,” he said.
Director of National Security Operations Centre (NOC), Garvin Heerah, who spoke to the Express yesterday, said, “That situation has engaged the attention of the intelligence agencies of Trinidad and Tobago. And at this point we are unable to give a figure as such, but it is something being worked on fervently.”
Heerah said because of the recent resolution that Trinidad and Tobago agreed to co-sponsor the UN Security Council resolution on foreign terrorist fighters, he had to be very limited in the information he revealed. “We are working hand in hand with our international partners,”said Heerah.
Intelligence, airport security sources and sources within a religious sect confirmed that many of the men and in some cases women and children have left using the route through Tobago, onward to England and then arriving in Turkey where the men cross the border, while women and children stay in Turkey. The pattern of travel is a bit tricky, according to Heerah who said: “We are waiting further information. The reason for that is the disguised method of departure in that the departure out of Trinidad is not say through Piarco and then straight to a destination, it is staggered.” Heerah explained that the Trinidadians were also using South American destinations and other Caribbean islands to depart from as they attempted to conceal their footprints and their final destination. One woman who was recently part of the delegation held in Venezuela and sent back home left through Tobago for England then onward to Turkey, sources said. “She also travelled with her four children ages three, four, five and nine and is now near the border of Syria, while her husband, also a Trinidadian, had been questioned as one of the men in the plot to assassinate the Prime Minister during the state of emergency and also had other pending charges is in Syria fighting for ISIS. In fact information we received is that he could be the Trinidadian voice behind a recent video in which a Syrian citizen was beheaded,” a well-placed source said.
Top ranking intelligence sources also reliably informed the Express as well as members of a certain religious sect that they had received credible information about certain men recruiting locally for ISIS. One of the men who could be recruiting is from the Rio Claro area. A source said, “I know one man who has already gone and two of his brothers are supposed to leave soon to go to Syria to join him.” Heerah confirmed that there were several persons locally on their radar: “There are persons of interest of which presently information is being gathered that may have an involvement, so I am not denying what you are saying.” The local fighters are paid US$1,000 per day for fighting for ISIS.
Trinidad and Tobago on Wednesday became a co-sponsor of a binding resolution compelling countries to stop their citizens leaving their homelands to join ISIS and other militant groups based in the Middle East and block them from returning to threaten their native countries using passports already granted.
Log into your account
Log in for full access to stabroeknews.com. You can also post comments, and manage your email subscription.
