Seven police officers have now been arrested in connection with the disappearance of three firearms and a quantity of ammunition from the Central Police Station at St Vincent Street, Port-of-Spain.
Senior police officials confirmed the major twist in the probe yesterday, saying the officers, who were of varying ranks, would have been on shift the night when the arms and ammunition went missing.
According to senior police, the officers were being questioned up to late yesterday but no charges had yet been laid.
The missing items include three Glock pistols, three magazines and 45 rounds of .9 mm ammunition.
The items were lodged at the Central Police Station for safekeeping by municipal police officers attached to the Port-of-Spain Division around 2.47 pm on August 10.
However, a firearms check around 3.40 am the next day (August 11) revealed the arms and ammunition were missing.
An investigation was immediately launched.
Preliminary information suggested that an “administrative error” may have been responsible for the guns and ammunition being unaccounted for.
However, during a T&T Police Service media briefing on Wednesday, corporate communications manager Joanne 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,” Archie said then.
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.
Eversley’s colleague, municipal police constable Jivan “Bigs” Cooper, construction worker Kwame Arnold, 20, and scrap iron dealer Nicholas “Nico” Ramdass, 24, both of Claxton Bay, have since been charged with Eversley’s murder and a series of firearms trafficking offences linked to the stolen weapons and ammunition.
Four of the municipal police officers who were suspended following that incident have since returned to duty. However, a superintendent who was among the group initially suspended following the incident remains on suspension.
Municipal Assistant Commissioner of Police Surrendra Sagramsingh was also sent on administrative leave when that probe began. He remains on leave.
Following that incident, municipal police officers were instructed to lodge their firearms at police stations, as stricter security measures were put in place by the T&T Municipal Police Service to ensure accountability.
