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Gun dealer refuses to give statement in DCP probe

A POLICE team investigating allegations of misconduct made by a gun dealer against Deputy Commissioner of Police (Intelligence and Investigations) Suzette Martin has met a stumbling block which is beyond its control and has delayed the outcome of the high-profile enquiry. Assistant Commissioner of Police Curt Simon, who is leading the investigative team probing a complaint made by Brent Thomas, was reluctant, in a telephone interview with Newsday on July 17, to give any details of the challenges his team is facing. On his first day in office, June 18, Police Commissioner Allister Guevarro said he received the complaint from Thomas and subsequently informed the Police Service Commission (PSC), as it involved allegations against a DCP. He appointed Simon and a team to investigate on June 23. Newsday has been reliably informed by three independent, reliable sources familiar with the investigation that police requested a signed statement from Thomas, 62, from Haleland Park, Maraval. But he refused, on the basis that he had already given the police all the relevant information and it was up to them to investigate the matter thoroughly. Two legal sources familiar with the investigation said Thomas was being cautious because he believed any new statement he made could potentially be seen as information which could affect a decision of the Appeal Court. The court heard the police’s challenge to an April 2023 High Court ruling, by Justice Devindra Rampersad, which deemed warrants which led to the seizure of guns and grenades were unconstitutional, and stayed criminal charges against Thomas. [caption id="attachment_1163452" align="alignnone" width="725"] ACP Curt Simon -[/caption] Thomas had been charged with possession of four grenades, two Sig Sauer rifles and a Skorpion rifle, all of which are prohibited under the Firearms Act. The court, comprising Justices of Appeal Prakash Moosai, Charmaine Pemberton and Mira Dean-Armorer, reserved its ruling in July 2024. It had earlier approved a police application to expedite the hearing ahead of a long list of other important matters. The PSC, chaired by Dr Wendell Wallace, has not commented publicly on the investigation into Martin and has not moved to suspend or send her on leave pending the outcome of the probe. Officers close to Martin said she has isolated herself, but continues to oversee all major police investigations and provide guidance to investigators. They said Martin, a seasoned investigator, whose office is on the sixth floor of the Police Administration Building, along with those of the CoP and other DCPs, remains focused on doing her job. This is in spite of the blowback from the arrest of former commissioner Erla Harewood-Christopher in February. That investigation, which eventually collapsed, surrounded the procurement and importation of two military-grade sniper rifles for the Strategic Services Agency, then under the leadership of retired major Roger Best. The arrest of Harewood-Christopher sent shockwaves in the police service with many senior and junior officers criticising the conduct of Martin and her team. Giving an update the complaint made by Thomas against Martin, Simon said the investigation “has been facing some challenges in terms of collating certain evidence that we would like to. The police service and I, as an investigator, have absolutely no control over that. And in light of that, the DPP (Director of Public Prosecutions) advised me to go as far as I can go as an investigator. I may just have to wait for other decisions to be taken in other places where I have absolutely no control over.” Simon met with DPP Roger Gaspard, SC, on July 14 and reported on the challenges his team was facing. He also updated CoP Guevarro on the status of the investigation. Asked whether Thomas was refusing to give the police a signed statement, Simon said he was unable to comment on that information. “I have deliberately not stated the challenge. And I would chalk that up to the knowledge of the law, knowledge of my profession...I do not wish to engage in speculations about the challenge with you. And I’m sure you will understand what it is I am alluding to. I cannot stop you from printing your speculations. But I am not in any way going to indulge in the exchange of such speculations.” He was pressed further on whether Thomas’s refusal to provide a signed statement was linked to the pending decision of the Appeal Court – on whether the criminal charges of being in possession of prohibited weapons (grenades) would proceed or not, and whether the constitutionality of the search warrants which led to their seizure is upheld. Simon said, “Again, I said all that you understand may be from whatever source you gain your understanding from. And I am not indulging in any speculative conversations.” Asked whether he was denying or confirming the information, Simon said, “I’m not engaging in any speculative conversations. And I wish that when you are writing, you can write it just as that, rather than making a statement that you just made.” Judge: Police humiliated Thomas Attached to the complaint were copies of all the affidavits in Thomas’s constitutional matter, and a copy of the scathing judgement of Justice Rampersad. The judge found the police’s securing warrants for Thomas’s arrest was tantamount to a “complete and utter stripping away” of Thomas’s “dignity and reputation” and that of his business, Specialist Shooters Training Centre. He also found the police acted “with the clear objective of pummelling and humiliating (Thomas) with search warrant after search warrant and the September (2022) arrest and the October (2022) abduction (from Barbados)" were intended "to bring him to his knees.” Thomas was arrested on September 29, 2022, and later released. He was re-arrested in Barbados, from where he intended to travel to Miami to meet his cardiologist, and said he was forcibly returned to Trinidad. He was later charged with possession of a series of weapons, including tear-gas grenades and automatic rifles and released on $800,000 bail. According to police, officers of the Professional Standards Bureau were conducting an audit at Thomas's business, then located in Aranguez where they found several discrepancies, as a result, a search warrant was executed at Thomas's residence. Police claimed during a search four explosive devices were found. Additional searches were done at the business and three prohibited guns were found An associate of Thomas, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the documents provided to the police “would have brought clarity to what transpired, concerning Martin and the other officers. These are sworn legal documents which the court has pronounced on, and the judge stayed the criminal proceedings.” The associate said additional documents were provided to the Appeal Court and emphasised that attorneys for the police had conceded during the appeal that Thomas was illegally returned from Barbados, and Simon and his team should also take this into account. Thomas’s lawyers have argued that he had legitimate import permits for all the arms and ammunition in his possession, and had been the primary supplier of weapons, ammunition and other tactical gear for the police service, defence force and other arms of national security for over two decades. After the High Court ruling in April 2023, a police statement said Harewood-Christopher had noted the judgment with concern and had ordered an investigation. Simon led that investigation and reportedly found insufficient evidence to support any charges against Martin, ASP Nigel Birch and Cpl Lawrence Joefield, who were part of the investigative team. [caption id="attachment_1167551" align="alignnone" width="850"] Barbados Attorney General Dale Marshall -[/caption] The Police Complaints Authority also did a parallel investigation into the same claims, and Guevarro has recently met with director of the PCA David West on the matter. The PCA is close to completing its probe before making recommendations to either the CoP or the DPP. Meanwhile, Thomas’s lawyers have also filed a lawsuit in the Bajan High Court challenging his “abduction” by members of the Barbados Police Force, even though the Attorney General of Barbados, Dale Marshall, SC, had accepted blame for the “forcible removal” of Thomas from his hotel room in 2022. However, the matter is yet to be settled, and Thomas has not been offered compensation for a breach of his constitutional rights. Brought back from Barbados Thomas was arrested and dragged from his hotel room by a tactical unit of the Barbados Police Force on October 5, 2022, after a request from the TT police on the suspicion that he was trying to abscond to Greece while on bail on serious charges of possession of automatic rifles and grenades. It was later revealed that on the basis of a long-standing relationship with Caricom Impacs, a sub-agency is based in TT that provides support to Caricom member states in intelligence gathering, sharing and analysis, a request was made for the use of an aircraft belonging to the Regional Security System (a security arrangement among several Caricom nations) to fly from the Grantley Adams Airport to Piarco Airport. There it was to pick up four passengers – Insp George Laldeo, head of the Transnational Organised Crime Unit, then Snr Supt Suzette Martin, ASP Birch and Cpl Joefield. All four were assigned to the Professional Standards Bureau at that time. Although there is a Caricom Arrest Warrant Treaty, a memorandum of understanding between several Caribbean countries which seeks to make it easier for member states to request the arrest and deportation of suspects in different jurisdictions, there are no domestic laws in place to give it legal effect in TT. The Government intends to bring that legislation to Parliament as part of its legislative agenda.   The post Gun dealer refuses to give statement in DCP probe appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.