(Trinidad Guardian) In a major shake up at the country’s main intelligence gathering agency, Major Roger Best, head of the Strategic Services Agency (SSA) has been sent on administrative leave.
Ambassador Brigadier General Anthony Phillips-Spencer, who was installed as acting head on Saturday, has embarked on an extensive review and audit of all personnel, equipment and processes within the agency.
Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley, who announced the shake up in a post on the Facebook page of the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) at 6.24 pm yesterday, said the action followed on a National Security Council recommendation to Cabinet.
“This recommendation has been effected and as of Saturday 2nd March, 2024, the head of the SSA has been sent on administrative leave,” he said.
“On Saturday 2nd March Ambassador Brigadier General Phillips-Spencer, on the instruction of the Prime Minister, has returned from Washington and on an instrument from the President has been appointed acting Head of the SSA.”
No further details were given in the OPM statement.
Hours before that announcement, premises occupied by the SSA at Knowsley on Queen’s Park West and St Vincent Street and Sackville Street in Port-of-Spain were placed on lockdown.
The action caught senior officers unawares. A senior official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed that he had been notified about the lock down around 4 am but said he was given very little information.
However, the heavy security presence around Knowlsey yesterday, including two officers dressed in camouflage with balaclavas covering their faces, who were seated in an unmarked vehicle parked in the front yard of the building.
Knowsley is occupied by several law enforcement agencies, including the National Operations Centre the T&T Police Service Operational Centre and the SSA.
Intelligence sources were tightlipped about the development yesterday and did not disclose whether any documents had been seized, or if anyone had been detained.
Major Best, a retired soldier, was appointed and given a three-year contract as Director of the SSA in July 2019.
His replacement, Brigadier General (Ret’d.)Phillips-Spencer, whose last posting was as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary at the T&T Embassy in Washington DC, served for more than 35 years in the T&T Defence Force (TTDF) from March 1981. His last military appointment was Vice Chief of Defence Staff.