Skip to playerSkip to main content
CCNTV6
  • 1 year ago
A top official of the U.S Drug Enforcement Administration says "there is a significant amount of cocaine that is transiting through the Caribbean."

The D.E.A official spoke with TV6 News before the signing of an M.O.U. for the establishment of a vetted police unit meant to intensify this country's war on the illegal drug trade.

But what exactly is a vetted unit?

Juhel Browne sought the answer to that question.





Transcript
00:00TV6 News spoke with Denise Foster, Special Agent in Charge of the Caribbean Division
00:05of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, before a ceremony for the signing of a Memorandum
00:10of Understanding between the DEA and the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service on Thursday.
00:16The Drug Enforcement Administration, we've been working collaboratively with the Trinidad
00:22and Tobago Police Service many, many years.
00:24So this is a natural step forward in establishing a unit that we can work even closer together.
00:32It was Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley who announced last year his administration's plans
00:37for special vetted units to work closely with U.S. authorities.
00:42Vetted unit is an opportunity for us to work with trusted members of the Trinidad and Tobago
00:50Police Services, sharing information and developing investigations targeting transnational
00:57criminal organizations operating not only here in Trinidad and Tobago causing the violence,
01:03but also throughout the Caribbean.
01:05Gun violence in the region has often been linked to criminal gang activity and illegal
01:10drug trade.
01:11And while CARICOM member states, including Trinidad and Tobago, have called on the U.S.
01:15to do more to help stop the flow of illegal guns and ammunition into the region, the DEA
01:20official said that U.S. agency focuses on stopping the flow of illegal drugs.
01:26How do you define a vetted unit?
01:28Is it apart from training?
01:30When you say trusted officers, what does that mean in terms of, let's say, persons who went
01:34to polygraph testing, for example, things like that?
01:37Well, we depend, we look to the leadership of the Trinidad and Tobago Police Services
01:42to say these are the people that we, you know, they select them.
01:47So, and we provide the additional training.
01:50And yes, there is a process that we have, but we provide the training for those officers.
01:57Special Agent in Charge Foster said the DEA provides specialized training.
02:02Once they are no longer a part of that unit, they go back and work, you know, and so they'll
02:08take those skills with them.
02:10Once they have that training, you know, it's value added for not only that individual,
02:16but for the police services itself.
02:18So the entire police service benefits outside of just that one unit?
02:21Absolutely, and even better, the community benefits from it as well.
02:25The Special Agent in Charge said while the DEA is on the lookout for meth and fentanyl
02:30from the region, those are not the illegal drug that arrives in the largest volume.
02:36So how bad is the illegal drug trade in the region on a scale of one to ten?
02:41Well, I won't use the scale of one to ten, but what I can tell you is there is a significant
02:48amount of cocaine that is transiting through the Caribbean.
02:51The geographic location makes it a prime location for the drugs that transit through this area,
02:59coming from source countries, going up into the Dominican Republic, or up into the United States.
03:05TV6 uses sought clarification about Trinidad and Tobago's airports and seaports.
03:11Will that all be part of the wider umbrella of dealing with the issue of illegal drugs?
03:15Yes.
03:16Part of our, you know, drugs are transiting through the Caribbean in many different ways,
03:21whether it's through the ports or through the airports, and we have the ability and
03:26we will provide the training and work collaboratively with the Trinidad and Tobago police services
03:31to address those, the drugs that are going through those mechanisms, or through the ports
03:35and in the airport.
03:37In separate media releases, the U.S. Embassy and the National Security Ministry said the
03:41MOU for the vetted unit was signed by the U.S. Ambassador Candace Bond, Special Agent
03:46in Charge Foster, and National Security Minister Fitzgerald Hines.
03:50The signing took place at the office of the TTPS, Transnational Organized Crime Unit.
03:56Minister Hines was quoted as having said, quote, the establishment of vetted units signifies
04:01our recognition that no single agency can tackle these challenges alone, end quote.
04:08Jule Brown, TV6 News.
Be the first to comment
Add your comment