(Trinidad Guardian) All prisons throughout T&T are currently on a “lockdown” as security measures are increased, including the installation of body scanners.
The move comes on the heels of Friday’s prison break in which prisoners Allan “Scanny” Martin, Hassan Atwell and Christopher Selby shot their way to freedom from the Port-of-Spain Prison, Frederick Street, Port-of-Spain, killing police officer Sherman Maynard as they did so.
A well-placed prison source on Monday said the “lockdown” would be in place for at least the next two weeks and would affect visits to prison by family members of prisoners.
Contacted last night, Prison Officers Association president Ceron Richards said the heightened security measures were long overdue.
He, however, said his main concern was that the alleged accomplice or accomplices to the prison break, referring to his own colleagues, are still on duty.
Saying he hoped the relevant authorities were close enough to making an arrest, Richards said: “This is a serious cause for concern. We are calling for a thorough investigation because if those inmates had an accomplice or accomplices in uniform, it is possible that the officer or officers are still amongst us working and this will further compromise the system,” Richards said.
“All these things they implementing now supposed to have been done long time ago, but we expect nothing short of an arrest soon.”
Richards said since the situation on Friday he has heard nothing from the Commissioner of Prisons Sterling Stewart.
“His silence is deafening. The country needs to hear what they are doing about this situation. Are they close to making an arrest?
“We need to hear from the Acting Police Commissioner Stephen Williams as well. The country cannot accept anything less than the arrest of these officers.”
He added that he is afraid that if the alleged officers, who he described as murderers, are not arrested, the association may be forced to take further and/or appropriate action.
“Right now, some of the officers are not comfortable working because this murderer or these murderers (referring to the alleged prison officers who helped the escapees) are still working like normal and they must be held. Justice must be brought swiftly,” Richards said.
“That person or people went into a contract to murder, to bring in guns and at the end of that someone could lose their life because guns involved, and in this case a life was lost. These accomplices must be held because the other officers are traumatised.”
CCTV footage released captured moments before the prison break inside the prison and showed Atwell, 41 and Selby, 30, running to the main gate pointing guns. One of them, keys in their hands unlocked the gate and the two ran out followed by Allan “Scanny” Martin, 42. Martin was cornered on the compound of the Port-of-Spain General Hospital where he was killed. A handgun and cellphone was recovered near his body.
CCTV footage captured outside the prison showed the escapees shooting at a marked police vehicle outside the prison. It was during that attack PC Maynard was killed.
Selby surrendered to officers at the Barataria Police Station on Sunday.
