(Trinidad Express) A chemist who was the focus of an investigation into threats of terrorism back in 2003 was killed along with his two sons yesterday.
The bodies of Veji Boodoo, 59, and his sons – Vidharshan, 30, and Shreedhashan, 24 – were found in a plywood shack off Connector Road, Reform Village. The house is located near the Brian Lara Stadium in Tarouba.
Caribbean Premier League (CPL) matches are currently being played at the facility.
Officers attached to the Ste Madeleine Police Station responded to a report from an anonymous caller at around 10a.m.
Police said the men were shot multiple times. The father and sons were found near the entrance of the one-room shack. The front door was left opened.
The father, police said, walked with the aid of crutches as his left leg was amputated after he was injured in an explosion. His arm was also injured when a device exploded two years ago.
“The father was injured a couple years ago. We understand that he was making a bomb and it exploded causing him to lose a leg and part of his arm,” the Express was told by a police source.
The motive for the killings is unknown but police confirmed that the men were allegedly involved in criminal activities and was granted bail for possession of arms and ammunition in 2017.
Boodoo, originally from Parforce Road, Gasparillo was also a farmer.
The bodies were removed to the Forensic Science Centre in St James.
Southern Division homicide detectives are continuing investigations.
Back in 2017, the brothers were granted $1 million bail each while their father was denied bail on three gun-related charges, including possession of a MAC-10 sub machine gun.
The firearms and ammunition were found at the wooden shack off Connector Road, where the father and son stayed occasionally. It was at the same location the shooting occurred.
In 2003, the father was being investigated for threats of terrorism made by a group of Muslim radicals.
Police raided a Debe chemical facility, owned by the Veji Boodoo, who is listed as being involved in several chemical companies.
Chemical experts described some of the chemicals found in barrels at the site as “dangerous and deadly”.
Boodoo also appeared in the Princes Town Magistrates Court in 2017 charged with possession of guns and ammunition. The illegal weapons were found in a vehicle in which he was a passenger.
Boodoo told the court that he had the weapons for protection as he had been a victim of crime.
