File – Police officers inside the prison. Photo: TTPS
By Sue-Ann Wayow
THE trafficking of cellphones in the nation’s prisons is one of the reasons for the declaration of the State of Emergency on Friday.
The Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) stated: “A critical enabler of this threat has been the unauthorised trafficking of cellular devices into prison facilities by compromised personnel. These devices have facilitated encrypted communications and real-time coordination between incarcerated individuals and external criminal operatives.”
The SoE was enacted after intelligence confirmed the emergence of a coordinated and highly dangerous criminal network operating from within Trinidad and Tobago’s correctional facilities.
The TTPS issued a media release at 6.20 am on Friday stating that Commissioner of Police Allister Guevarro, has formally recommended to the government a declaration of an SoE.
Guevarro is expected to address the nation at a press conference on Friday morning.
On Thursday night, an emergency briefing was given to Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar and Attorney General John Jeremie, and immediate steps were taken to enact containment, the strategic removal and relocation of key incarcerated individuals, so as to disrupt command structures and prevent further coordination, the TTPS stated.
The TTPS stated, “The intelligence reveals that incarcerated individuals are actively leveraging internal and external networks to plan and execute attacks on key figures within the national security and justice sectors.
“These efforts are not isolated but represent a structured campaign involving multiple criminal entities whose targets include senior police officers, members of the judiciary, personnel within the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), and officers of the Trinidad and Tobago Prison Service. Additional intelligence continues to be gathered through inter-agency collaboration.”
The TTPS stated that a critical enabler of the threat has been the unauthorised trafficking of cellular devices into prison facilities by compromised personnel.
These devices have facilitated encrypted communications and real-time coordination between incarcerated individuals and external criminal operatives.
“The funding for these operations is derived from a range of violent, as well as organised criminal activities, including high-value robberies, armed home invasions, extortion, kidnapping, and the infiltration of state-funded contracts and programmes.
“The scale, coordination, and internal facilitation of these activities indicate an operational capability that exceeds the containment capacity of conventional law enforcement measures. As such, a comprehensive and immediate strategic response was required to safeguard national stability and protect public officials and institutions,” the TTPS stated.
The foremost recommendation of the SoE will empower law enforcement agencies to initiate rapid containment actions, enhance interagency coordination, and deploy additional resources with the necessary authority to neutralize the threat. No curfew is recommended at this time.
To operationalise the response, a high-level Threat Response Group from various arms of law enforcement was established with a specific mandate to treat with this threat and its actors.
In addition to Thursday’s meeting, law enforcement units have already begun targeted overt and covert operations, which shall continue until the threat is neutralised.
The TTPS stated it remains resolute in its commitment to protecting the nation’s democratic institutions and the safety of its citizens. These extraordinary measures are necessary to preserve public order, restore confidence in our national security framework, and ensure the continued stability of the country. Citizens are urged to remain calm, cooperate with law enforcement directives, and report any suspicious activity to the appropriate authorities.
