(Trinidad Express) Deputy Commissioner of Police McDonald Jacob said last night police were putting their investigative apparatus together to solve what he described as a heinous crime.
“We have put together a special team to do this investigation,” he said, referring to the murders of five men in Carapo last Saturday.
“We are working on particular leads as this is something that we cannot tolerate in our society and this alone can tell us the sort of illegal weapons that may be in the hands of criminal elements and can create havoc when utilised by persons with criminal mindsets. We are making all efforts and we have certain leads in this crime that we do not want to say too much about right now,” he said.
Police sources meanwhile believe the five men were killed near their homes in Carapo on Saturday to silence one man who may have witnessed a murder.
The five—Avinash Sookraj, 32; Russel Poon, 53; Radish Pooran, 54; Ryan Sookraj, 27, and Jimmy Poon, 26—were all found dead near a river not far from their homes located off Racecourse Road, Carapo.
Police said they received a call around 4.30 p.m. and together with some of the men’s relatives found them all near the river with gunshots to the back of their heads.
Officers of the Arima CID, Region Two Homicide Bureau and the Crime Scene Unit later responded and by 11 p.m. on Saturday the five bodies had been removed from the scene and taken to the Port of Spain Mortuary.
The Express visited the area first on Saturday night and then yesterday.
While abuzz on Saturday night, yesterday the area was quiet. There was a heavy police presence in both marked and unmarked vehicles and police said they were currently questioning some relatives and friends of the five men trying to get to a solid answer as to why they were killed.
So far they speculate that one of the men, Jimmy Poon, had been working on a construction site on March 30 this year when Kareem Thomas was shot and killed.
Around 12.40 p.m. that day, gunmen ambushed Thomas at the site where the Diego Martin flyover and an administrative centre are currently being built.
This cannot be real
Relatives and friends of the five spoke to the Express but they did not want their photos taken or their names mentioned.
They, too, speculated that one of them, being a witness to a murder, led to all five being killed.
They rejected the notion that they were troublemakers in the area.
One relative said, “When they told me that it was one, then two, then three, four and we were hearing of another, we were like…nah. This cannot be real.
“I was here on Saturday trying to get this story and when I saw my other relatives they were already in a mess.”
As he spoke his daughter sat nearby not saying much while his wife remained inside the house crying.
“My wife could not even get up this morning and right now this has had a big impact on us because up to last week some of these guys were here helping me do some construction. We will not be the same,’ he said, breaking down.
“This is hurting us. I mean we have our differences but when you call any of them, they will come, They were not pests,” he added.
“Look. When they are liming they will have a little bickering and that’s normal because the next day they are closer than ever,” he said.
“They don’t take things from people place. They would hunt and fish and cook and when time to lime they will chip up their money and take their lil’ drink but other than that they are not pests,” he insisted.
Another relative, who also asked to not be named, said most of the neighbourhood was in shock.
“Them fellas never interfered with anyone. They loved hunting and fishing and making a cook,” she said.
She said some people fell to the ground on Saturday after hearing of their deaths and were unable to speak.
“Right now we are in fear because Carapo is kinda dangerous because about two years ago my Uncle (Rudolph Poon) was murdered and nothing came out of it,” she said.
In March 2019, a relative of the five, Rudolph Poon, 50, was found dead in his Pinewood Drive, Carapo, home. Police said yesterday the murder is still under investigation.
