Senior Reporter
Two police officers have been detained in connection with the investigation into the disappearance of three firearms and a quantity of ammunition from the Central Police Station on St Vincent Street, Port-of-Spain. The detention was confirmed late yesterday by police officials.
Responding to questions during yesterday’s T&T Police Service weekly media briefing, corporate communications manager Joanne Archie said three Glock pistols, along with three magazines and 45 rounds of .9 mm ammunition, were lodged at the Central Police Station for safekeeping around 2.47 pm on Monday by municipal police officers attached to the Port-of-Spain Division.
A firearms check around 3.40 am on Tuesday revealed the arms and ammunition were missing, following which an investigation was immediately launched.
Asked to respond to preliminary information suggesting it may have been an “administrative error” that led to the guns and ammunition being unaccounted for, Archie declined to say much, urging people to allow the investigation to proceed without undue speculation.
“I do not have any update on that information and it may very well turn out to be administrative. However, I will let the investigative process take its course, and we will update the public as it progresses,” she said.
Archie said the investigation will include a careful examination of when the firearms were taken to the station and who took possession of them after they were handed over.
Tuesday’s incident comes almost four months after the armoury at the San Fernando Municipal Police Station was found emptied of arms and ammunition.
The empty vault was discovered on April 19, at the same time the body of Cpl Anuska Eversley was found in the station at King’s Wharf, Lady Hailes Avenue.
An autopsy revealed the 42-year-old mother of three was beaten and strangled.
An audit undertaken by the TTPS to determine how many firearms and ammunition were stolen during the heist remains active.
Following that incident, municipal police officers were instructed to lodge their firearms at police stations, as stricter security measures were put in place to ensure accountability.
