- NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - 07/Aug 14:50

Eight suspected gang members detained in assassination plot

EIGHT SUSPECTED gang members have been detained under the Emergency Powers Regulations 2025, governing the state of emergency, in an attempt to prevent imminent assassination plots. The notices, gazetted late on August 6, cited imminent threats to national security posed by alleged gang members and criminal conspirators, according to Legal Notices No 255 through 261, published on the night of August 6. Minister of Homeland Security Roger Alexander ordered the detentions under the authority of Regulation 14, which empowers the state to pre-emptively detain individuals suspected of endangering public safety. The orders target a network of suspected gang affiliates linked to homicide investigations, assassination plots, and access to high-powered weapons. Multiple individuals were detained for alleged gang affiliations and suspected involvement in the murder of a man killed earlier this year. Authorities stated that some of the detainees were involved in a plan to assassinate a second individual in retaliation and had made threats to members of the public. Another group of individuals was detained for allegedly conspiring to murder a woman in a public space during working hours, a plan that the orders say posed a significant risk to civilians. One of the detainees was described as a logistical facilitator, while others were believed to be armed gang members. Two additional detainees were identified as members of a violent criminal group known for planning reprisal shootings using high-powered rifles. They were accused of planning attacks in response to the recent killing of a suspected gang affiliate, according to the detention orders. According to the orders, one of the detainees was gifted two rifles from an alleged gang leader. They also alleged that some of the detainees were members of the Organised Criminal Group, also known as the RC7 Gang, which is said to be a faction of the Seven gang, “recognised for its propensity for violence and involvement in organised criminal activity.” All individuals are being held at the Eastern Correctional and Rehabilitation Centre in Santa Rosa, Arima, or another location designated by the minister. Minister Alexander signed all orders on July 26. The names of the detainees have been omitted by this newspaper because of the nature of the allegations, which are yet to be proven and for which no charges have yet been laid. A state of emergency was declared on July 18 and extended by three months on July 28 after the government was convinced by Police Commissioner Allister Guevarro that gangs, incarcerated at the Maximum Security Prison and co-conspirators outside had compiled a hit list of people in the justice system, including judges and prosecutors. Guevarro said the police had received intelligence the day before that the gangs had “formed themselves into … an organised crime syndicate” and were intent on wreaking havoc and planning assassinations, robberies and kidnappings. In response, 10 high-risk inmates had been moved to military detention facilities at the army and coast guard base in Chaguaramas. In December 2024, the then Rowley administration advised the President to declare a state of emergency out of concerns over reprisals after a spate of killings. That SoE was also extended for three months in January 2025. The post Eight suspected gang members detained in assassination plot appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.