Gang leader, cousin and ‘love interest’ among latest SoE detainees

The entrance to the Maximum Security Prison, Golden Grove, Arouca. - File photo

ANOTHER woman described as the love interest of a Tunapuna gang leader, along with the gang leader himself and his cousin, who is accused of a recent kidnapping, are among the latest detainees held under the state of emergency (SoE).

The woman is said to be the second-in-command of the OCG Resistance Gang, while the gang leader, despite being in prison since 2020, was accused of communicating with and directing his gang members to “murder, kidnapping for ransom, and other violent offences,” making him an immediate and serious threat to public safety.

Nineteen detention orders signed off by Minister of Homeland Security Roger Alexander were gazetted as legal notices 285-303 on August 19. They were signed between July 31 and August 15.

Legal Notice 294 alleges that the woman, the love interest of a suspected gang leader detained at a military facility, has operational control and leadership of the OCG. The alleged gang leader was also ordered detained by Legal Notice 298.

“She has been identified as a trusted member of the gang who is planning, directing, procuring and supervising gang activity for the gang wherein she has recruited and armed gang members with firearms and provided 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, prisons service and the Judiciary.

“She has recently arranged high-level meetings between gang leaders of several OCGs involved in a plot to kill state officials and is recorded as giving instructions to gang enforcers to carry out coordinated assassinations of targeted officers.

“She also has provided finances and high-powered rifles for distribution to gang shooters. She has been recorded as having an integral role in the carrying out of a recent kidnapping and is a central figure in a planned series of imminent kidnappings of several identified members of the business community.

“She has also distributed weapons and offered financial incentives to gang members to ensure these activities take place, as well as providing logistical support.”

Legal Notice 267, gazetted on August 8, identified a St Augustine woman as also being the gang leader’s love interest with operational control and leadership of the Resistance Gang. The allegations against the two women are similar, although one of them was implicated in the kidnapping of a doubles vendor’s daughter for ransom, the killing of a coconut vendor on more than one occasion and the extortion of several businesses in her area.

The gang leader’s cousin was identified as a gang leader with responsibility for his faction of the Resistance Gang in the Valencia community.

His detention order – gazetted as Legal Notice 287 – said he confessed that he has and will continue to engage in acts of violence by planning, directing, procuring and supervising gang activity for the gang.

“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.”

His detention order said that corroborating confidential informants provided evidence that the detainee is a suspect in the kidnapping of Satie Karim on July 17 and the murder of Kevin Paul on July 10.

“A search of his home on July 22 uncovered ammunition. 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 order said the detainee identified his cousin “as the main gang leader he gets instructions from,” and another incarcerated suspected gang leader and murder accused as the person he purchases firearms from.

“He claims to have already killed 30 people and intends to kill more upon his release. He also admits to planning to kill members of the protective services and has a ‘glaring disrespect’ for police officers in Valencia.

“The detainee is a second cousin to (name called), 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 gang warfare between the Resistance Gang and the Seven Gang has led to a sharp increase in firearm-related offences, including homicides and shootings, since April 2025.

“Shootings have occurred in public places with high-powered rifles, posing a high risk of collateral damage to the public.”

Another of the detainees was identified as the leader of the Gorilla Strike Force Gang from San Juan. He is currently incarcerated on murder charges and was one of the first group of inmates to be moved from the Maximum Security Prison, Arouca, to Teteron Barracks, Chaguaramas, hours after the SoE was declared on July 18.

He is alleged to have access to a cache of high-powered rifles, other weapons and ammunition. His detention order alleged that, despite being incarcerated, he has been able to communicate with his gang and plan with other gangs to carry out “imminent targeted killings of law enforcement officers and other public officials,” using high-powered rifles.

“It is therefore necessary to provide for the preventative detention of the detainee notwithstanding his incarceration, as he has demonstrated the ability to continue to communicate with and act as the leader of a gang and to procure the commission of gang-related activities from within the nation's prison.

“Heightened security measures are necessary at this time to deter, disrupt and prevent the occurrence of such events.

“There is a real risk and clear and present danger to members of the public and to public officials, including members of the protective service, that can become a reality if he is not further preventively detained.

Another detainee, accused of being a gang leader, was allegedly engaging in extortion of small businesses and persons and has used the threat of fear to intimidate persons since his release from prison in March 2024

He was among eight men released by the High Court after they were resentenced for the murder of Thakoor Boodram, brother of deceased drug kingpin Nankissoon “Dole Chadee” Boodram.

The remaining detention orders target alleged gang leaders, enforcers, and affiliates linked to murders, kidnappings, robberies, and organised criminal plots. The detention orders said the detainees represent key figures in violent factions across Laventille, Belmont, Diego Martin, Moruga, Tunapuna, and Caroni. The ministry described them as central actors in escalating turf wars and organised criminal enterprises that have endangered civilians, law enforcement, and the business community.

The orders also alleged intelligence linked multiple detainees to public shootings, including incidents that killed three people in Gonzales on July 13, the slaying of a police officer, and reprisal attacks at Port of Spain General Hospital.

“These most recent incidents have given rise to imminent public reprisal shootings which endanger the safety of the public.”

Several detainees were also were arrested in connection with the Seven-11 Casino heist and other robberies. Intelligence indicated they formed tactical teams tasked with intimidation, surveillance, and firearm use during robberies targeting cash transporters and commercial establishments.

Authorities said detainees acted as gunrunners, scouts, and logistics providers for firearms smuggling operations. Others allegedly extorted small businesses, trafficked narcotics, and recruited young members into organised crime groups.

Intelligence also indicated attempts to expand gang control into new communities, including Belmont and Diego Martin, through violent takeovers backed by caches of high-powered rifles.

The detainees have been sent to various facilities, including the Eastern Correctional and Rehabilitation Centre in Arima, the Women’s Prison in Arouca, the Maximum Security Prison in Arouca, and Staubles Bay in Chaguaramas.

Since the start of the SoE, 13 similar orders have been signed by the minister, which authorise detention without warrant and indefinite holding at designated correctional facilities.

Alexander ordered the detentions under the authority of Regulation 14, which empowers the state to preemptively detain individuals suspected of endangering public safety.