(Trinidad Guardian) Senior police sources suspect that a recent announcement of strengthened collaborations between this country’s security apparatus and the CIA and FBI may be as a result of the influx into Trinidad and Tobago of automatic weapons from both North and South America.
During a media briefing at Whitehall yesterday, the Prime Minister revealed that he spoke with senior officials from the CIA and FBI during his visit to Washington DC this week.
When pressed for clarity on what prompted the meeting with the US officials and what led to his unease, Rowley said T&T was being “liked” by certain international organised crime figures.
“We are an open country in international trade, international contact. And even outside of our official entry points, what we have been discovering is that certain criminals are ‘liking’ us and these are not small-timers. I say no more on that,” Rowley said.
Moments after Rowley’s disclosure, one senior police source referred to the seizure of a quantity of automatic weapons in Santa Cruz last October, noting the majority of the guns were traced to the US, with the two .50-calibre machine guns originating from Colombia.
The source suggested the weapons were being brought in by criminals who were already imprisoned.
Pointing to an instance where firearm components were shipped in boxes for television parts, the officer noted that criminals were being more innovative in how they were transporting weapons.
“No one would suspect when metallic parts are transported in a box containing these parts. Even if they search the items, they may not think much of it when they see certain components in it.”
Another source noted that in addition to these concerns, the collaboration with the US may be in response to trends where international figures have come to the Caribbean to expand their influence.
One officer confirmed T&T has been visited in the past by people suspected of being “major players” in the international drug trafficking trade.
The source disclosed that a man believed to be a part of a cartel in Colombia flew into Trinidad in 2022 and visited a T&T citizen in Central Trinidad for two weeks.
“The individual was heavily monitored and surveilled for the duration of his visit. However, because of how these things work we were unable to arrest or do anything besides pay close attention, as the person was being monitored by another external agency.”
The source argued, however, that a reluctance by externa security agencies to share certain information with the TTPS may cripple an effective response from local law enforcement.
The officer noted that individuals who were being monitored by international law enforcement agencies had their passports “flagged” but further information was only available to senior officers.
The source said there was an incident where a person flagged by international authorities as being a “major player” in organised crime visited T&T but said local authorities were not apprised of any information.
“I recall an ACP was called into a meeting with the DEA liaison and not much information was revealed after that.”
The officer said while there was some optimism that local authorities would receive some assistance in crime-fighting from increased collaboration with the FBI and CIA, more partnership and trust is needed.
“It cannot be a situation where we (the police) only know about the when and not the location but the individuals involved and no further context. We are always called upon to provide support for manpower but no further information is provided.”