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AMID apparent death threats to law-enforcement personnel, Police Commissioner Allister Guevarro on July 22 issued an "advisory" reminding officers on and off duty to stay on alert so they can be prepared to defend themselves against criminals.
He acknowledged that working in law enforcement was, "by its very nature, very dangerous."
However, in the current climate and particularly under the ongoing state of emergency, he said those risks had been further increased.
"Officers are reminded that their safety is of paramount importance, and their vigilance both on and off duty must remain uncompromised," Guevarro said via a media statement.
"Protective protocols are being strengthened, all intelligence units remain on high alert, and targeted countermeasures are being actively implemented to neutralise any emerging threats."
He charged that the police service remained unwavering in its commitment to safeguard its officers, protect the public, and dismantle the operations of criminal syndicates nationwide.
The police held a series of co-ordinated operations between the night of July 21 and the early hours of July 22.
Those precision efforts led to the safe recovery of kidnapped victim Jankie Satie Karim, 44, of Valsayn.
Karim was kidnapped on July 13 near the family's home while travelling with two other relatives, including a minor, in their Hilux van. The vehicle was recovered the next day abandoned in Arouca.
The officers also arrested a female suspect.
Two male suspects were fatally shot by the officers, one in Rampanalgas where Karim was found, and the other in Arima. According to the police, both were members of a known criminal syndicate involved in the kidnapping.
After the overnight operations, the police received credible intelligence indicating increased threats to law-enforcement personnel through planned co-ordinated criminal activity targeting both police and prison officers.
The top cop said the "intelligence community" remains fully engaged and continues to unearth vital information that is proving instrumental in disrupting the plans of the organised criminal syndicate.
Guevarro's advisory came the same day an audio recording, believed to have been recorded by an inmate, began circulating on social media.
In the almost two-minute recording, the speaker used coded language like “purge the place” and “put it on them,” interpreted as threats against law enforcement.
The man also named people, “Buckman,” “John Wick,” and “Fish,” as part of his plans, and mentioned targeting an officer in on a named street and two others "up in south" Trinidad.
He also spoke about organising rental transportation and sending updates in pieces owing to poor cell service.
The speaker referenced a separate incident involving $100,000, saying someone got “spooked,” and expressed frustration about being “oppressed” and “depressed” while in prison.
On the night of July 17, Guevarro held an emergency meeting with Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar SC and AG John Jeremie, during which he recommended the State of Emergency (SoE) be declared owing to intelligence received about a dangerous new organised crime syndicate operating within the prison system and with associates outside.
The SoE was declared early on July 18, and prisoners from the Maximum Security Prison in Arouca were transferred to an undisclosed location to try to break communication. The top cop has said the criminals were plotting murders, kidnapping and other violent crimes.
This latest SoE marks the fourth since 2011, highlighting the country’s continued struggle to confront violence and instability through the use of emergency measures.
In August 21, 2011, then Prime Minister Persad-Bissessar declared a limited SoE in “hotspot” areas to tackle rising crimes. The immediate trigger was a deadly weekend in which 11 people were murdered. There was also an alleged plot to assassinate the Prime Minister.
That SoE, proclaimed by then-president, the late George Maxwell Richards. It included a curfew from 9 pm to 5 am, later adjusted to 11 pm to 4 am.
The curfew was lifted in November, but the SoE continued until December 5, 2011, lasting 106 days.
Ten years later in May 2021, the Dr Keith Rowley-led government invoked emergency powers at the height of the covid19 pandemic.
Faced with rising infection and death rates, the administration again under Prime Minister Rowley introduced a SoE along with a nightly curfew from 9 pm to 5 am. Essential workers were granted exemptions.
This SoE focused on curbing public gatherings and slowing the virus's spread, and was eventually revoked on August 29, 2021, after a three-month run.
Last year, in December, again under in then the Rowley-led administration, there was an SoE owing to gang-related violence.
President Christine Kangaloo signed the declaration on December 30, 2024, and on January 13, it was extended for an additional three months.
Then National Security Minister Fitzgerald Hinds had said the SoE was designed to confront criminals and provide law enforcement with easier access to them than under normal circumstances.
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