3 days ago
1
Senior Reporter
Deputy Commissioner of Police Junior Benjamin says he cannot say more about a detainee who reportedly confessed to 30 murders, since it is a matter of national security. The detainee is also a suspect in a recent kidnapping.
On Tuesday, 19 detention and preventative detention orders, which were signed between July 31 and August 15 by Homeland Security Minister Roger Alexander, were gazetted.
According to one of the orders, Jason Paul, known as Buckman, Buck, and BMan, was identified as the leader of the Valencia faction of the Resistance Gang. Paul, the order said, confessed in an interview while under caution, that he engaged and is expected to continue to engage in acts of violence by planning, directing, procuring, and supervising gang activity.
“He has admitted to arming gang members with firearms and giving them instructions from the gang leader to engage in acts of kidnapping against the business community and to kill State officials, including members of the TTPS, Prison Service, and the Judiciary,” the order claimed.
Paul, the order said, is a suspect in the kidnapping of Jankie Satie Karim. Karim was abducted on July 13 and rescued on July 21. During her rescue from a house in Rampanalgas, police killed a suspected kidnapper and arrested a woman. The second suspect was killed during an alleged shoot-out with police hours after Karim was rescued at a house along Old Piarco Road.
Paul is also a suspect in the killing of Kevin Paul in July, the order claimed.
“In an interview on July 28, he admitted to having ‘soldiers’ who sell weed for him and are awaiting his instructions. He also stated his intention upon release to ‘deal with his rival, 7 gang.’
“He admitted to having high-powered rifles and arms that he plans to use against the State and members of the protective services. The detainee identified Robert Paul as the main gang leader he gets instructions from, and Rajaee Ali as the person he purchases firearms from. He claims to have already killed 30 people and intends to kill more upon his release,” according to details outlined in the order.
The order also stated that Paul admitted to killing members of the protective services and has a “glaring disrespect” for police officers in Valencia.
“The detainee is a second cousin to Robert Paul, the overall leader of the Resistance Gang, and communicates with him regularly, receiving instructions that he executes. He claims to be a leader, not a shooter, and that he “runs” Valencia. He is also named in a social media voice note about plans to execute police officers, prison officers, and members of the Judiciary,” the detention order detailed.
Yesterday, when asked about the risk the detainee poses, given the details and claims made in the detention order, DCP Benjamin did not want to divulge much.
Benjamin, who spoke with Guardian Media after meeting with officials from the Ministry of Education on security for schools at the Education Ministry in Port-of-Spain, said it was a matter of national security.
“At this time, I would not want to go much into that because I think that certain things are about national security. I’m saying that we are going out there and we are going to ensure that all persons who seek to disturb the peace of Trinidad and Tobago, those persons are the persons that we are targeting, and we are going to go after them and ensure that Trinidad and Tobago is a safer place at the end of the day.”
English (US) ·