Criminals may have been able to exploit the absence of proper inventory records at a municipal police armoury to enable them to steal guns and thousands of rounds of ammunition from the San Fernando facility on Sunday.
Criminologists: Daurius Figueira, left, and
Dr Randy Seepersad.
The incident also resulted in the murder of municipal police officer Anuska Eversley inside the San Fernando Municipal Police Station.
Criminologist Daurius Figueira yesterday warned that transnational criminal networks may have infiltrated Trinidad and Tobago’s security apparatus, using insider knowledge to exploit vulnerabilities exposed in the recent break-in at the San Fernando Municipal Police Station and armoury.
Speaking in a telephone interview yesterday, Figueira said the operation appeared highly coordinated, noting that those responsible “knew exactly what they were doing” when they targeted the facility.
He opined that the guns and ammunition could be used to either arm an insurgent group or to sell on the illicit market.
However, Figueira acknowledged that judging from what the Police Commissioner was saying, this was not the case, “which confirms my position that it was an operation of transnational organised crime here to destabilise the national security apparatus of Trinidad and Tobago and thereby by extension, destabilise the State”.
He said the breach also raised serious questions about the level of security at the facility, suggesting weaknesses may have been identified and deliberately exploited.
According to Figueira, such operations are not always motivated by immediate financial gain or the need to arm local gangs.
He warned that such networks often rely on insider access, explaining that individuals within the national security apparatus may be working in tandem with transnational criminal groups.
He also dismissed calls for a curfew as an effective solution, arguing that such measures would not prevent targeted killings and could further expose weaknesses within the security system.
Track and control arms, ammo
Holding a different point of view, criminologist Dr Randy Seepersad urged a review of weapons storage and accountability systems within law enforcement agencies, while also cautioning against misinterpreting evidence emerging from recent security-related controversies.
He said the core issue was not the presence of firearms and ammunition in police facilities, but the systems in place to track and control them.
According to Seepersad, the focus must remain on strengthening protocols rather than assuming widespread misconduct.
“I don’t think it’s so much a matter of the ratio of weapons to personnel in the station,” he said.
Seepersad stressed that secure storage will always be necessary, but said the effectiveness of such systems depends heavily on accountability mechanisms and consistent monitoring.
He also cautioned against drawing quick conclusions from the discovery of police-marked ammunition at crime scenes, warning that such evidence must be carefully assessed before any attribution is made.
He noted there were multiple ways such items could surface in criminal investigations, including gaps in disposal processes or deliberate attempts to mislead investigators.
Seepersad warned that premature interpretations risked distorting investigations and public understanding of events. He said investigators must consider a wide range of possibilities rather than focusing on a single explanation, particularly where evidence may have been manipulated or misrepresented.
Seepersad said he considered the heist an isolated incident.
