Cop held with guns on Caroni River

The Caroni River -

A police officer assigned to the Anti-Extortion Unit of the TTPS, was among two men detained in a boat along the Caroni River on December 10, hours before the police carried out a massive $171 million marijuana seizure in the nearby Caroni Swamp.

The officer and the other man have since been charged with a series of firearms-related offences.

Police have stressed that no one was arrested in connection with the multi-million drug bust in the swamp, which was aided by the US military-grade radar in Tobago.

The officer is expected to appear before the High Court on December 17 and has already been granted station bail, in keeping with a recent High Court ruling which struck down government policy removing the authority of justices of the peace (JPs) to grant bail at police stations.

Newsday understands the police officer was charged on December 14, with six offences, including possession and transfer of ammunition, possession of a police service shotgun without authorisation, and possession of police service ammunition without authorisation.

Investigators said the officer was found with unauthorised weapons and ammunition, along with two licensed firearms. One of the licensed firearms was allegedly given to a second man, who police said had it tucked into the waistband of his pants.

At the time of the arrest, investigators said the officer did not have his firearm user’s license or his police identification card in his possession.

Both men were interviewed extensively in the presence of their attorneys, Terry Boyer and Vishal Persad, before being charged. The arrests were carried out by the Multi-Option Police Section (MOPS) of the Special Branch, a unit that was also instrumental in the multi-million-dollar drug seizure later that day in the Caroni Swamp.

The Anti-Extortion Unit was launched in September 2024 under then-CoP Erla Harewood-Christopher to tackle a spike in instances of extortion throughout the country.

On May 1, police officer Naboth Bynoe appeared in court in connection with an extortion incident. He was charged with kidnapping, larceny and two counts of demanding money by menace.

Last month, a policeman was among two men charged with the murder of a Couva farmer. PC Jason Beetham, 28, of Freeport, and Govindra Lackram, 26, of Couva, appeared in court on November 18 for the murder of livestock farmer Vishnu "Shawno" Lalla, who was kidnapped on November 8 and found dead 24 hours later.

In September, a 22-year-old police officer was charged with manslaughter for the shooting death of SRP Jamal Charles, his colleague, at the Ministry of Rural Development and Local Government headquarters in Maraval.

In July, PC Akel Hypolite was charged with a string of offences after allegedly shooting a woman in a nightclub in Sangre Grande.