PM Signals Possible CoE into 2022 Brent Thomas Case, says Costs Could Decide

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Caption: Kamla Persad-Bissessar speaking to reporters at the Red House on Friday. AZP News/Prior Beharry

Summary

PM Kamla Persad-Bissessar says Cabinet will discuss a possible Commission of Enquiry (CoE) into the 2022 arrest and court-deemed ‘unlawful abduction’ of firearms dealer Brent Thomas from Barbados.
She says cost will be central to the decision, noting CoEs can run into ‘millions and millions’ and compete with spending on public services.
Persad-Bissessar is standing by her CARICOM Summit remarks describing the episode as a ‘kidnapping,’ saying they reflect the High Court’s findings and accepted liability.
Barbados PM Mia Mottley rejected the ‘kidnapping’ label as ‘defamatory,’ saying arrest warrants were presented and Barbadian police acted on them.
Opposition MP Marvin Gonzales supports an inquiry in principle but warns against a ‘witch-hunt,’ while defending the former administration’s actions.

By Prior Beharry

PRIME Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar says her Cabinet will consider whether to establish a Commission of Enquiry (CoE) into the controversial 2022 arrest and court-deemed “unlawful abduction” of firearms dealer Brent Thomas from Barbados,

But, she warned the potential cost of such a probe could determine whether it goes ahead.

Persad-Bissessar revived the issue this week during her address at the opening ceremony of the 50th CARICOM Summit in St Kitts and Nevis, describing Thomas’s detention in Barbados and return to Trinidad and Tobago aboard a military aircraft as a “kidnapping.”

The remarks prompted an immediate response from Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley, who rejected the term “kidnapping” as “a scurrilous lie and defamatory in the extreme.” Mottley said official records indicate Trinidad and Tobago police presented arrest warrants to Barbadian authorities, who acted on them, and that Barbados did not direct operational aspects of the exercise.

Speaking outside Parliament on Friday, Persad-Bissessar said she did not single out Barbados for blame at CARICOM, but maintained her description was consistent with the court’s findings.

“And now it is the government of Barbados that has to use taxpayers’ dollars from Barbados to pay Mr Brent Thomas’ damages. They accepted liability, the AG accepted liability for the actions. And what more can I say? Where’s the lie then?” she said.

In 2023, High Court Justice Devindra Rampersad ruled on Thomas’s constitutional claim, finding that his detention and removal from Barbados were unlawful and amounted to an abuse of process. Thomas was arrested in connection with a firearms trafficking investigation.

Former police commissioner Gary Griffith has called for a CoE into the matter, and Persad-Bissessar said she would raise the issue with Cabinet. However, she cautioned that commissions are expensive and must be weighed against other priorities.

“Commissioners’ enquiry cost a lot of money… we have to use the money for the people,” she said, adding that government would undertake a “cost-benefit analysis” before making a decision.

Persad-Bissessar pointed to past commissions that resulted in major State payouts over time, including matters arising from the collapse of CL Financial and CLICO, UDeCOTT-related issues, claims linked to the 1990 attempted coup, the Las Alturas housing project, and the Paria diving tragedy.

Meanwhile, Mottley has suggested implementing a CARICOM Arrest Warrant to help prevent a recurrence of the Thomas matter. Persad-Bissessar said the proposal has not yet reached her Cabinet, but indicated she was open to considering it.

“Nothing has been worked on at the moment, so it’s something that sounds like a brilliant idea,” she said, while adding she found it notable that further explanations emerged after her CARICOM comments.

PNM MP Marvin Gonzales, who served in the former administration at the time of the incident, told Guardian Media he did not oppose a CoE, saying there was “a lot of misinformation” about the case, but he cautioned against any politically motivated exercise.

He defended the former government’s actions, saying the then minister of national security and law enforcement agencies liaised with regional counterparts and there was nothing indicating ministers or state officials should have been concerned. Asked about the court’s ruling, Gonzales said he respected the judgment.