By Prior Beharry
Trinidad and Tobago’s Police Commissioner was detained on Thursday by her officers concerning the importation of two sniper rifles for the country’s intelligence agency in 2023.
The country’s first female top cop Erla Harewood-Christopher was being held in the same building she has her office on Sackville Street in Port of Spain.
Trinidad and Tobago is currently under a state of emergency after gang warfare and reprisal killings have become common.
Harewood-Christopher’s arrest on Thursday follows the detention of the former head of the Strategic Services Agency (SSA) Major Roger Best who was brought in by the Special Investigations Unit, Special Branch and other elite officer during the wee hours of Thursday.
Best was suspended in March 2024 and replaced by Brigadier General Anthony Phillips-Spencer who was tasked with doing an audit of the SSA.
In July 2024, Trinidad and Tobago’s Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley said, “Shockingly the audit discovered that the former SSA director initiated the procurement of high-grade military bolt-action rifles complete with the most modern silencers and other accessories and the SSA engaged in training specially selected questionably hired personnel in the skill of the use of such weapons.”
The investigation that led to the detention of the police commissioner was done by one of her deputies Suzette Martin.
The warrant for which Harewood-Christopher is being questioned read “that there is reasonable ground for believing that documents pertaining to the acquisition of two specialised Accuracy International A X2 bolt-action sniper rifles and an array of high-value firearms accessories, cellular phones, including SIM cards and SD cards, images, calendars, phone books, contacts, SMS messages, emails, pictures, videos, audio files, call logs, installed application data, voice recordings etc… which there is reasonable ground for believing will afford evidence as to the commission of an indictable offence namely misbehaviour in public office contrary to common law.”
Harewood-Christopher is expected to spend the night at the same building that houses her office.
Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissesar said, “Citizens should ask if the real reason for the SOE was to implement a gun amnesty to save other government officials who are also under investigation.”
The Attorney General revoked Regulation 11 allowing a gun amnesty stating that it was not in line with government’s policy.
At a recent political meeting, Persad-Bissessar said, “Why did you include regulation 11… Is there any senior government official under investigation for possessing a prohibited weapon. It might be a young person or old person… I am asking is there… any government official under investigation for possessing a prohibited weapon, under the firearms act and is this regulation 11 to ease them up?”
