Skip to playerSkip to main content
CCNTV6
  • 2 years ago
Illegal quarrying not only damages the environment across this country's landscape- but it's a multi-million dollar business that many profit from.

TV6 news uncovered any area in Central Trinidad where this illicit activity has gone unchecked for almost nine months.

Senior Multimedia Investigative Journalist and Producer, Mark Bassant brings us this special investigation, A Quarrying Quandary.
Transcript
00:00 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:03 Over the last few years, illegal quarrying
00:14 has increased with frequency throughout the country.
00:18 This operation here at Mahika Village in Las Lomas,
00:20 number one, is not unique.
00:23 For the last nine months, law enforcement officials
00:26 have attempted to suppress it with minimal success.
00:30 It has left many asking questions
00:32 as to who exactly sanctioned this illicit operation
00:36 that TV6 News learned is on state land.
00:39 Truck drivers employed by a contractor
00:42 have been cutting away chunks of aggregate,
00:45 slowly eating away at the land.
00:48 They said they were requested to take the material
00:50 to recreational grounds for the Kuva Tabaki Talpau
00:54 Regional Corporation.
00:56 But that is far from the truth.
01:00 A road has been somewhat cut to this area
01:02 here, where extensive quarrying has been taking place.
01:06 When TV6 News visited about two weeks ago, work had ceased.
01:10 Just one back was stood perched, overlooking the area.
01:15 The contractor met with TV6 News on the condition
01:18 that his name or company not be published
01:20 due to safety concerns after an attempt was made on his life
01:24 and recently explained his position on the matter.
01:27 The contractor stated, "An agreement was drafted
01:30 in January 2023 and executed in March 2023.
01:35 The road engineer and another senior engineer
01:37 were instrumental and consulted in drafting an agreement.
01:41 I met them on site to scour the area, also
01:44 on the corporation premises, to determine the scope of works,
01:47 max road widths, et cetera."
01:51 The contractor said since he owned land
01:53 in the vicinity of the Mahika Road,
01:55 he had volunteered to widen the road in the Mahika Extension
01:57 Road area with the intention of developing and cutting
02:01 the road out to Todd Station.
02:03 He told TV6 News that the agreement was
02:05 vetted by the corporation's corporate secretary
02:08 with help from an attorney.
02:10 He indicated during our conversation
02:12 that it was forwarded to the council for vote.
02:14 And in his own words, said members
02:16 saw the following benefits, which included,
02:18 open quote, "billing of actual roads,
02:20 providing access for multiple land owners,
02:23 development of area, provision of road maintenance,
02:26 which benefited many residents," close quote.
02:29 In fact, the contractor said, open quote,
02:32 "I think the vote was unanimous.
02:33 It was then passed to the then chairman, Henry Awong,
02:36 for approval, which was granted," close quote.
02:39 Awong, in a brief telephone interview last week,
02:42 said he remembered permission granted for 10-wheeler trucks
02:44 to traverse the area in question,
02:46 but could not recall anything related to the corporation
02:49 giving permission to mine/quarry the area
02:52 that TV6 News visited.
02:55 But the contractor said initially
02:56 that a clause in the agreement, which seemed ambiguous,
02:59 gave the impression that the Kuva Tabaki Talparo Corporation
03:03 had not only granted permission to widen the road,
03:06 but seemingly to allow mining quarry operations.
03:09 The contractor said that when this
03:11 was spotted by the now sitting chairman of the corporation,
03:14 Ryan Rampersad, who assumed office in July last year,
03:18 they decided to terminate the agreement in January this year
03:21 and have the clause amended before any agreement could
03:24 be struck up.
03:26 The only entity that can grant permission
03:28 to mine/quarry via license lies with the Ministry of Energy.
03:32 Chairman of the Kuva Tabaki Talparo Corporation,
03:34 Ryan Rampersad, said when they realized what was happening,
03:38 they acted quickly to curb the illicit activity, open quote.
03:42 The corporation was visited by members
03:44 of the multi-agency task force in late 2023,
03:48 and some concerns were raised based
03:49 on an ongoing investigation by the task force.
03:53 Under those circumstances and against the backdrop
03:55 that a corporation never condones
03:57 any wrongdoing of the presumption of it,
03:59 we thought it prudent to rescind it to the permission
04:02 granted, name of company called, to utilize the corporation's
04:05 roads with heavy machinery until the MATF gave it all clear
04:09 that the investigation had ended.
04:11 The rescission of permission to the company
04:13 to traverse heavy equipment on its roads,
04:15 as done in January 2024, there's been no further permission
04:19 granted subsequent to the rescission in January 2024,
04:23 close quote.
04:24 Rampersad told TV6 News in a brief telephone interview
04:26 on May 7 that apart from rescinding that agreement,
04:30 anyone who was interested in doing mining in that area
04:32 had to come with the requisite paperwork
04:34 from the Ministry of Energy before any permission would
04:37 be granted in the future.
04:39 With no new agreement in place, several sources
04:42 say the illicit mining at this site continued until mid-March.
04:46 The contractor told TV6 News that he
04:48 had applied for a mining license for the area
04:51 we had visited that is on state land
04:53 and said he also obtained a certificate of environmental
04:57 clearance from the EMA.
04:59 He even showed us his receipt for the mining
05:01 license he had applied for to quarry
05:04 on this parcel of state land.
05:06 But almost a month ago, TV6 News were
05:08 told by a senior Ministry of Energy official,
05:11 quote, "no license to date has been given granted
05:13 to quarry on state land in that area at Mahika Las Lomas
05:16 number one," close quote.
05:18 The multi-agency task force which
05:20 investigates illegal quarrying had only recently
05:23 shut down an operation in the Wallerfield area
05:26 and arrested and charged eight people for illegal quarrying
05:29 earlier this month.
05:30 They were all charged under section 45(1) of the Minerals
05:33 Act, chapter 6103.
05:36 A senior source at the multi-agency task force
05:38 said that several people who were running quarrying operations
05:41 were trying to beat the system through a technicality,
05:44 open quote.
05:45 The certificate of environmental clearance, CEC,
05:48 is a prerequisite for the actual license,
05:50 and they must also obtain Tongan country approval.
05:53 But when they get the CEC, it gives them
05:56 the authority to change infrastructure
05:58 and in so doing, removing materials.
06:00 But if the EMA and Tongan country have compliance units,
06:03 they will not be able to do this until they get their license.
06:07 Some by doing this don't believe that they
06:09 need to apply for a license anymore
06:11 and even wait before they're given the license.
06:14 And this is where a serious problem lies.
06:17 But if these compliance units can be put in place,
06:20 we'll have a good chance of stopping
06:22 a lot of the illicit quarrying, close quote.
06:25 Questions were also sent to the EMA last month
06:27 asking if they had been aware of this illicit operation,
06:31 open quote.
06:32 The EMA is in receipt of the complaint
06:34 of alleged illegal quarrying at Las Lomas number one,
06:36 Mahika village.
06:38 This complaint was received in November 2023,
06:41 and the complainant in lodging the complaint
06:43 also copied the Ministry of Energy, Kuva Tabakital
06:46 Paro Regional Corporation, and the Commission of State Lands,
06:49 close quote.
06:51 The EMA said that their hands were tied in taking action,
06:54 and that responsibility fell to the Ministry of Energy,
06:57 as well as a multi-agency task force to act on this matter.
07:01 Further allegations of this seemingly illicit operation
07:04 were captured by police officers who
07:06 stopped some of these trucks as they left the site
07:09 over the last few months.
07:10 [INAUDIBLE]
07:11 While the contractor maintained that the aggregate was
07:21 given to several recreational grounds in central Trinidad,
07:25 the drivers who were transporting the aggregate
07:27 told a different story, that the aggregate was sold for profit.
07:31 [INAUDIBLE]
07:32 Another driver also admitted he was taking the aggregate
07:44 to a company and not a recreational ground.
07:47 It is not a recreational ground that you are carrying the load
07:50 to, right?
07:50 Correct?
07:51 [INAUDIBLE]
07:51 Some councils in central Trinidad
07:59 were also contacted, and speaking off the record,
08:01 they said they had not received aggregate for their grounds.
08:05 What TV6 News were also told by reliable sources
08:08 is that at this abandoned property,
08:09 where the Las Lomas number one and two roads meet,
08:13 about a mile away from the quarrying site,
08:15 this area would act as a drop-off site for sand
08:18 due to the condition of the road.
08:20 Various trucks, we were told, picked up the aggregate
08:23 from this destination and then drove to various places
08:26 to sell and stockpile the sand.
08:28 Ram Prasad said he had heard about this happening,
08:31 but distanced the corporation from any association
08:34 with this particular activity.
08:36 The contractor in question claimed that for several months
08:39 he was asked to pay bribes of $3,000 per week
08:42 to police officers to continue his activities.
08:45 He claimed that when he stopped paying the police officers
08:48 this year, his house was firebombed and shot up
08:50 by unknown gunmen.
08:52 He said he and his wife were fortunate to escape unhurt
08:55 from the ordeal, and that is the reason why
08:57 he didn't want his name or that of his company
08:59 used in this story.
09:01 Senior officers of the multi-agency task force
09:03 told TV6 News that they have initiated an investigation
09:06 into the illicit quarrying in the Mahayka Las Lomas
09:09 number one area.
09:10 We wait to see if those who would have broken the law
09:13 are held accountable in this instance.
09:16 Mark Prasad, TV6 News.
09:20 (dramatic music)
09:23 (gunshots)
09:25 (dramatic music)
09:28 (upbeat music)
09:30 [MUSIC]
Comments