Two police officers were detained in the operation | Local news

Two police officers from the North East Division were captured by colleagues during an operation on Saturday night after they allegedly extorted $2,000 from a Venezuelan man.

The arrests took place when they returned to base at the Santa Cruz Police Station, were searched and found to have money in their possession.

Moments earlier, officers were on patrol in the Santa Cruz area when they demanded the man pay $1,000, which he did, police said.

Investigators said the invoices were marked even though they didn’t know it.

They explained that the man had reported to police in the past that he had been the victim of blackmail and was advised by investigators to mark the cash and hand it over the next time he requested money.

After handing over the money, the man went to the police station and reported to Inspector Daniel, who was on duty at the time.

When the officers returned to the station they were searched and marked banknotes were found in their possession.

The men remained in custody yesterday afternoon and are expected to be charged by Professional Standards Bureau (PSB) officers in the coming days, police told the Express.

Seven other police officers, who were brought to trial in 2023 for allegedly blackmailing businessmen in the Sangre Grande region, were dismissed by the President of the Supreme Court just last Monday.

Master Sarah De Silva took the decision after the police investigation and the officers who brought the charges failed to comply with the court’s instructions on two consecutive occasions.

Those before the court were Inspector Deyal Ramlakhan and acting Corporal Shaheed Khan, as well as PCs Davanan Ragbir, Jason Osouna, PC Macai Joseph, Cleon Smith and Reyon Charles.

They were charged with improper conduct in public office and conspiracy to pervert the course of public justice by deliberately making false written statements for the purpose of implicating a victim in a criminal investigation involving the operation of an illegal gaming house.

On the last hearing date, none of the three officers from the PSB who brought the charges attended the hearing. Also, there was no police prosecutor at the beginning.

Essentially, the captain had no knowledge of whether the police file had been sent to the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for the appointment of a State prosecutor.

The court had originally ordered that the file be handed over by November 1, but this was not done. Master De Silva then extended the deadline to 8 November and directed that the State’s evidence against the defendant be delivered to them by 15 November.

Police prosecutor Corporal Bayne, who appeared on the virtual call minutes later, did not provide any information when seeking a status update.

He explained that he only retained the police prosecutor assigned to the court and therefore could not provide the court with any updates on the steps being taken regarding the progress of the cases.

Given this situation, Master De Silva said he felt it was necessary to suspend the officers.

In response to the officers’ dismissal, Department of Homeland Security Minister Keith Scotland, SC later clarified that their dismissal and the dismissal of the charges were two different scenarios.

He said the DPP’s Office could reinstate the charges against the officers and have them brought back to court.

Two days after their release, five other officers charged with improper conduct in connection with them for allegedly accepting a $30,000 bribe to stop the prosecution of a businessman also appeared in court, the charges against them being dismissed by Master De Silva for lack of jurisdiction. from the evidence.

In this case, it was revealed that the prosecution did not comply with the court orders as there was no evidence against the defendant.

The officers in this case were PCs Keenen Williams, Evans Mitchell, Kevin Gomez, Jabari Mc Intyre and WPC Latifa Lezama. Two other police officers have been charged with them and Master De Silva is expected to make a decision this afternoon on whether the cases against them will proceed or be dismissed.

Following the collapse of the cases, the Police Complaints Authority (PCA) announced it was launching an investigation to find out exactly what led to the collapse of the cases.

Erla takes action

Last Friday, Police Commissioner Erla Christopher said disciplinary proceedings had been initiated against three police officers in connection with the cases that were discharged last Monday.

In his statement, he said, “A disciplinary investigation has now been initiated against three police officers due to the first incident involving seven police officers.”

He emphasized that the Police Department is aware of the seriousness of these issues.

Christopher added that any officer found to have committed misconduct or failed to meet required performance standards will be held accountable.

He said TTPS remains committed to transparency, fairness and the pursuit of justice for all and will continue its policy of zero tolerance towards wrongdoing.

“Accordingly, I want to reassure the public that any officer found to have engaged in conduct that does not meet the required standards will face the full burden of the law,” he added.