- 1 year ago
T&T signed an mOU with the U.S Drug Enforcement Administration, to help combat drug trafficking
A third event was cancelled due to TTPS intervention
and the government weighed in on the Port impasse
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NewsTranscript
00:00Good evening and welcome to the past 7 days on 6.
00:21I am Renessa Cutting, here's what made the news this past week.
00:25TNT signed an MOU with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration to help combat drug trafficking.
00:32A third event was cancelled due to TTPS intervention and the government weighed in on the port
00:38impasse.
00:39As per usual, if it was happening, it was on 6.
00:42Let's get right into it.
00:44A top official of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration confirmed that there is a significant
00:50amount of cocaine that is transiting through the Caribbean.
00:53The DEA official was speaking with TV6 News before the signing of an MOU for the establishment
00:59of a vetted police unit meant to intensify this country's war on the illegal drug trade.
01:05TV6 News spoke with Denise Foster, Special Agent in Charge of the Caribbean Division
01:11of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, before a ceremony for the signing of a Memorandum
01:16of Understanding between the DEA and the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service on Thursday.
01:22The Drug Enforcement Administration, we've been working collaboratively with the Trinidad
01:27and Tobago Police Service many, many years.
01:30So this is a natural step forward in establishing a unit that we can work even closer together.
01:38It was Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley who announced last year his administration's plans
01:43for special vetted units to work closely with U.S. authorities.
01:47A vetted unit is an opportunity for us to work with trusted members of the Trinidad
01:55and Tobago Police Services, sharing information and developing investigations targeting transnational
02:03criminal organizations operating not only here in Trinidad and Tobago causing the violence,
02:08but also throughout the Caribbean.
02:10Gun violence in the region has often been linked to criminal gang activity and the illegal
02:15drug trade.
02:16And while CARICOM member states, including Trinidad and Tobago, have called on the U.S.
02:20to do more to help stop the flow of illegal guns and ammunition into the region, the DEA
02:25official said that U.S. agency focuses on stopping the flow of illegal drugs.
02:31How do you define a vetted unit?
02:33Is it apart from training?
02:35When you say trusted officers, what does that mean in terms of, let's say, persons who went
02:39to polygraph testing, for example, things like that?
02:42Well, we look to the leadership of the Trinidad and Tobago Police Services to say, these are
02:49the people that we, you know, they select them.
02:53And we provide the additional training.
02:55And yes, there is a process that we have, but we provide the training for those officers.
03:02Special Agent-in-Charge Foster said the DEA provides specialized training.
03:08Once they are no longer a part of that unit, they go back and work, you know, and so they'll
03:14take those skills with them.
03:15Once they have that training, you know, it's value-added for not only that individual but
03:21for the police services itself.
03:23So the entire police service benefits outside of just that one unit?
03:27Absolutely, and even better, the community benefits from it as well.
03:30The Special Agent-in-Charge said while the DEA is on the lookout for meth and fentanyl
03:35from the region, those are not the illegal drug that arrives in the largest volume.
03:41So how bad is the illegal drug trade in the region on a scale of 1 to 10?
03:47Well, I won't use the scale of 1 to 10, but what I can tell you is there is a significant
03:53amount of cocaine that is transiting through the Caribbean.
03:56The geographic location makes it a prime location for the drugs to transit through this area,
04:04coming from source countries, going up into the Dominican Republic or up into the United States.
04:10TV6 used a sort of clarification about Trinidad and Tobago's airports and seaports.
04:16Will that all be part of the wider umbrella of dealing with the issue of illegal drugs?
04:21Yes.
04:22Part of our, you know, drugs are transited through the Caribbean in many different ways,
04:27whether it's through the ports or through the airports, and we have the ability and
04:32we will provide the training and work collaboratively with the Trinidad and Tobago Police Services
04:36to address those, the drugs that are going through those mechanisms or through the ports and the airport.
04:42In separate media releases, the U.S. Embassy and the National Security Ministry said the
04:46MOU for the vetted unit was signed by the U.S. Ambassador Candace Bond, Special Agent-in-Charge
04:52Foster, and National Security Minister Fitzgerald Hines.
04:56The signing took place at the office of the TTPS Transnational Organized Crime Unit.
05:02Mr. Hines was quoted as having said, quote, the establishment of vetted units signifies
05:07our recognition that no single agency can tackle these challenges alone, end quote.
05:14Jewel Brown, TV6 News.
05:17A 35-year-old man was charged with the murder of Police Constable Krishna Banhar, who was
05:22killed in the line of duty on November 6th.
05:26Minister in charge of policing, Keith Scotland, took the opportunity to advise PC Banhar's
05:30family that compensation is available.
05:35Six days after he was killed and three days after he was laid to rest, PC Banhar's family
05:40is one step closer to securing justice for his death.
05:44Homicide South investigators had an audience with the Director of Public Prosecution where
05:49they received instructions to charge a 35-year-old male suspect of the Guapo District for the
05:55murder of Police Constable Krishna Banhar, who was shot and killed on a police operation
06:03in the Guapo District on Wednesday the 6th of November 2024.
06:09The suspect is also facing charges for possession of a firearm and ammunition.
06:14Banhar, who was 25 years old, had been employed with the police service for four years, when
06:20he was fatally shot during a police exercise in Guapo, during which a suspect was also
06:25killed.
06:26Minister with responsibility for policing, Keith Scotland, wants the Banhar family to
06:32know that while nothing could replace his life, compensation is available, although
06:37it may not be in the amount of $1 million.
06:41I am not aware of the claim of that policy, but I am aware and I can state categorically
06:48that the Protective Services Compensation Board is operational and the estate of the
06:56deceased officer is advised to certainly inquire into that and it is situated at the third
07:08floor, Temple Court, Ministry of National Security on Abercrombie Street, Portisbeek.
07:15Minister Scotland describes the compensation process as seamless, but notes that it is
07:20a time-sensitive issue.
07:23The application is made, it is heard before the board, I think it sits either on a Tuesday
07:30or Thursday and certainly compensation is awarded according to the nature of what transpired
07:42and it is really a seamless process, but I also think that time is of the essence in
07:49that you must make the claim in a timely fashion.
07:53I would hope that within three months that claim ought to be made.
07:58Minister Scotland also confirms that compensation is available to officers who are injured in
08:03the line of duty.
08:05The November Freeze concert scheduled for Saturday, 16th November, was cancelled by
08:09the promoters as a licence appeal hearing scheduled for Friday was adjourned.
08:15Classic Kings Promotion is promising to issue refunds in as timely a manner as possible
08:20and is also putting the TTPS on notice to expect legal action.
08:24As it stands right now, we have no other choice but to cancel November Freeze.
08:30With an appeal to their concert licence adjourned to a later date, Classic Kings Promotion says
08:37They have no choice but to cancel the November Freeze event scheduled for Saturday, which
08:42police maintain poses a threat to public safety.
08:45We already warned the case.
08:47The police had no evidence as to what they were stating and our event had no issues as
08:54I said in the past, clean track records, so they had no evidence and no reason.
09:02However, they tried to state that our event was a threat to public safety, with no evidence.
09:10Somebody just wake up one day and decide, you know what, we have no crime fighting tactics,
09:17let's blame the Feds.
09:19Classic Kings Promotion is accusing the TTPS of being moral police and is calling for support
09:25from the promotions community.
09:27Then we'll have to go to all bars and stop all bars from playing this music.
09:32We'll have to go to YouTube in people's house, don't listen to that.
09:36People need to chill and listen to those music.
09:38So how stopping this threat can help that?
09:42So we are on the lookout for this carnival, but this is not about that, this is about
09:45November Freeze right now, right?
09:49But we are on the lookout for that, for the promoters, so stand with us.
09:53The promoter is advising the TTPS to expect legal action.
09:57Classic Kings is also reporting huge losses as a result of the last minute cancellation.
10:03They're asking for the public's understanding.
10:07Right now they left our company in ruins and we have to take the pieces back together and
10:12we'll ask our supporters to help us with that and bear with us as we say.
10:17We need to refund everyone their money, yes we know that.
10:21But as I say, it's a process and let's do it together and try to bring Classic Kings
10:27back on the field.
10:28Hopefully next week we will say, okay you guys, take back your tickets to the outlets.
10:33They will take your information along with your number and the number of your ticket
10:39because I want to say this, the scammers will come out and try to drop back tickets in outlets.
10:47So we need to get everyone's information, the ticket numbers, to verify the tickets.
10:52We had a quick break.
10:53We'll have more news when we return.
11:01Thanks for staying with us.
11:03The line minister for the Port Authority told Parliament last week that the chaos at the
11:08ports in Port of Spain and Scarborough can be traced to what he described as an unenforceable
11:13memorandum of agreement signed between the Port Authority and One Trade Union back in
11:182015.
11:19As what local business chambers have called the chaos at the port of Port of Spain and
11:24the Scarborough port continued on Friday with the Christmas shopping season underway, Works
11:30and Transport Minister Ruan Sinanan spoke on the matter in the House of Representatives.
11:35Madam Speaker, it is important to note what is the current impasse on the Port Authority
11:42of Trinidad and Tobago and what it pertains to, specifically non-acceptance by one of
11:50the recognised union and its membership in respect of the approved wage offer submitted
11:58by PATT.
12:01Minister Sinanan was responding to an urgent question raised by Kupa South MP Rujunath
12:05Indarasinghe on behalf of the opposition.
12:08The Works and Transport Minister spoke about what he said had occurred during the UNC-led
12:13People's Partnership Administration before the PNM won the general election on September
12:187, 2015.
12:19In 2015, a MOA was signed by the then board of the Port Authority of Trinidad and Tobago
12:27which identified a 12% wage increase without following the acceptable practice.
12:35In 2015, it was a similar inter-ministerial committee that was chaired by Minister Hawaii.
12:45Based on the legal advice from two senior councils, the Port Authority of Trinidad and
12:50Tobago and the SWWTU, we advise that the MOA is not enforceable.
12:57Minister Sinanan said the Port Authority has been actively engaging the union to bring
13:01about a settlement on this matter without success.
13:05The SWWTU was provided with an offer for a period 2014 to 2017 and 2017 to 2020.
13:16The SWWTU has refused the submitted offer.
13:21MP Indarasinghe sought some clarification from the Works and Transport Minister.
13:26Minister, could you inform this House, or are you willing to make public the two legal
13:32opinions that you referred to, in terms of the legal advice that was given to the Port
13:40Authority of Trinidad and Tobago in relation to the negotiation that was settled in 2015?
13:49Madam Speaker, based on the discussions and the stage of these negotiations, it would
13:56be improper for me to make those available based on impending court action that may come
14:04out of this decision.
14:06The opposition MP referred to the Industrial Relations Act.
14:10Are you now saying to this House and to the union and port workers that the government
14:17has altered the recognised majority union certificate and referred all matters of the
14:23port to the Chief Personal Officer?
14:25Minister?
14:26Madam Speaker, I did indicate that under the previous government there was a committee
14:33headed by Minister Larry Hawaii.
14:36I don't know if that was altered then.
14:38However, what we can say is they do get guidelines from the committee on negotiations.
14:45Minister Sinanan emphasised that there are three bargaining units at the ports under
14:49the Port Authority, and the issue is with one bargaining unit.
14:54Jewel Brown, TV6 News.
14:57Large sums of forex are just sitting on the port while the country's economy suffers.
15:02It was the lamentation of the head of the Downtown Owners and Merchants Association,
15:07Gregory Abood, who called on SWWTU President Michael Ansett to meet with the business community.
15:15With NATOC and the SWWTU voicing displeasure over what they deemed a deeply biased, one-sided
15:22statement from the Chambers of Commerce, Doma Head Gregory Abood is now calling for a meeting
15:28with Michael Ansett, head of the Seaman and Waterfront Workers Trade Union, which represents
15:33port workers.
15:34I'm deeply hopeful and I'm making a personal plea to Mr. Ansett.
15:39We are willing and open to meet with you, we are willing and open to have frank discussions
15:44and we want to let you know that our side of the story is not selfish and seeking of
15:49our bottom line, but we are keeping a keen eye on the overall impact on Trinidad and
15:54Tobago.
15:55On Wednesday, AmCham TT, the Energy Chamber, the Chamber of Industry and Commerce and the
16:00Manufacturers Association urged government to take whatever action necessary to resolve
16:06the impacts on the port of Port of Spain.
16:10The Doma President also laments that Trinidad and Tobago's economy is suffering as a result
16:15of the dispute and notes that the situation is further compounded by the forex challenges.
16:21And we are damaging our export trade.
16:24There are hundreds of containers that go out of Trinidad every week to export destinations
16:30in the region and that is being affected at a time when foreign exchange is the number
16:35one topic on everybody's lips.
16:38Foreign exchange is sitting, waiting to be earned because it cannot go out.
16:44I would ask Mr. Ansett and his team to reconsider their situation, to accept that we are in
16:51a very serious position and to vary somewhat this plan of action, not to damage the country
16:59as badly as it is being damaged right now.
17:01Asked to comment on the timing of the port workers' actions, given that Christmas and
17:06Carnival are approaching, Abood summed it up this way.
17:10In the same way that the unions characterize the business community as self-centered and
17:18self-seeking and so on, I would say that it is fair comment on the question of the timing
17:24to say that the national community is all rolling their eyes at this timing, is all
17:30saying that we are being placed under pressure because this is the time when we feel pressure
17:35the most and I would like to suggest that that would be one of the things we would discuss
17:41with Mr. Ansett is that the timing casts the wrong impression about the true nature of
17:47his complaint and gives the mistaken impression that it has been chosen just to put us under
17:53even greater pressure than we would have been at any other time of year.
17:58While the SWWTU president Michael Ansett told TV6 he is more than willing to meet with the
18:03business community.
18:04I tell them, Seamans Union is open to talking to any one of them, they could call a meeting
18:11weekend, Saturday, Sunday, whatever time we are willing to come and sit down and let us
18:17move forward because the port is suffering and even people of the islands.
18:23Ansett said while some people may be of the view that the union and the port workers are
18:28holding the country to ransom, that is not the case.
18:32In fact, he said the union supports measures to save the Port Authority millions of dollars
18:37but he claimed the government refuses to implement the measures just because it would include
18:42signing off on a 12% wage increase for workers.
18:46If they implement the framework agreement, you know as I speak to you, the port would
18:53have saved over $100 million from 2015 to the present point and then do you know that
19:02overtime has escalated, that it is a little more than 60% of the wage bill, 60%!
19:10Because we are still working Saturday and Sunday and public holidays and paying it at
19:14overtime rates.
19:15It is obvious that this government doesn't want to implement the 12% or the framework
19:23agreement because it means that you have to implement the 12%.
19:28Trinidad and Tobago may consider implementing a social media ban for minors.
19:33The announcement came last week from Minister in Charge of Policing Keith Scotland in light
19:38of the threats of cyber bullying and cyber sex crimes.
19:42With infinite threats lurking behind our digital screens, Minister in Charge of Policing Keith
19:47Scotland says this country may consider following Australia's lead in implementing a social
19:53media ban for minors.
19:56I was reading this week in Australia, there is a move now to legislate against people
20:03being on, children, teenagers being online and having what you all have now, TikTok until
20:12you reach the age of 16.
20:14That is something that we may have to look at in Trinidad and Tobago and one of the main
20:21threats that is geared towards eliminating is the threat of cyber bullying and the cyber
20:31sex exchange.
20:34The minister is encouraging children to report all instances of cyber bullying to their teachers
20:39and parents.
20:41Minister Scotland is also urging teachers and school administrators to take back control
20:45of their classrooms and schools by extension.
20:48A parent from a very prestigious school, and I put that in open close quotations, called
20:57me this week to ask if it's right for a principal to go through the children's phone.
21:04And my answer to them was, well, I am not sure if it's right or wrong, but I think that
21:10it is wise.
21:11The minister also shared the following advice to teachers.
21:15There are some times that you may feel that the parent of a child may be out of hand and
21:21out of order to try to threaten you as you try to take control of your classroom.
21:27I say to you, let not the minority ruin your good work for the majority.
21:36Report them to the police.
21:39The minister was speaking at an NPTA cyber crime prevention seminar held in conjunction
21:44with the United Nations.
21:47This is the past seven days on six.
21:57Welcome back.
21:58The Environmental Management Authority launched an investigation into what Masigas Product
22:04Limited referred to as the venting of nitrogen during a routine operation.
22:09The EMA expressed concern that it was not informed of the incident by the company on
22:13Friday.
22:15According to Masigas Products, around 9 p.m. on November 15th, excess nitrogen was vented
22:21during what a company says was a routine mobile tanker filling operation.
22:26The incident resulted in the roadway on the outskirts of the company, located at the Point
22:31Lisa's industrial estate, being filled with a smoke-like chemical discharge.
22:36Masigas says there was no harm to people, property or the environment as it gave its
22:41commitment to maintaining the highest safety standard to protect people and the environment.
22:47TV6 News contacted Chief Executive Officer of the Environmental Management Authority,
22:51Hayden Romano, on the incident.
22:53What's the EMA's position on this at this point?
22:58Well, at this time, the EMA, like the rest of the public, has only just been, well, informed
23:06that it was Masi, the incident last night at Point Lisa's was Masi, as confirmed by Masi.
23:14And we will investigate.
23:17And once we have the information based on the investigation, we will get back to the
23:24public and to the media, to the public, to the media.
23:28He says such chemicals coming into contact with the public is not something the EMA would
23:33like to see happening.
23:35So I do not think it could have been the normal procedure.
23:40But any other additional concerns about what you saw in that video?
23:44Well, I think the biggest concern for us is that we would have thought that based on the
23:53incident, I mean, that Masi would have contacted our hotline and at least informed us, which
24:01is, I mean, what we see as standard operating procedure.
24:04I mean, an incident occurs, you immediately contact us.
24:08He says the EMA hotline is a 24-hour service and when used, puts the EMA in a better position
24:15to be able to respond accurately to the media and or the public.
24:20Nitrogen gas is an asphyxiant and inhalation can be fatal.
24:24Asked whether there are concerns about a chemical coming into contact with people, Romano responds.
24:30At this time, I do not want to see because I suspect, I mean, it all depends on concentrations
24:37and everything else.
24:38Romano expects the EMA's investigation to be completed by Tuesday.
24:43Alicia Boucher, TV6 News.
24:47Switching gears now.
24:48Some parts of Pinal remained underwater on Wednesday following Tuesday's heavy rains.
24:53While in some areas, homeowners began cleaning up their properties.
24:56Others had to wait for the floodwaters to recede.
25:00Cleanup efforts began in some homes in and around Pinal on Thursday following severe
25:05flooding.
25:06But for many others, road and houses remained partially submerged.
25:11On some roads, only vans and trucks could pass, while some homes remained surrounded
25:16by floodwater, like here on Clark Road or Batchia Trace.
25:21Some families have relocated temporarily to the homes of relatives and friends waiting
25:26out the water.
25:27We can't go over there because of the water, they won't come or anything.
25:32So we will just stay up the road, up the hill from home here.
25:37It's very sad that we had to keep going through this all the time, but I don't know, it's
25:44God's work, but we will still cope with it to see what we can do to get better than this.
25:50Along Batchia Trace, a couple of young men use an inflatable boat to shuttle food and
25:55other supplies to residents unable to make it across.
25:58Right now we have a little flood in the area here, right now we have a little boat and
26:03things here.
26:04So just go and help out people with a little water and a little food and stuff and things
26:07where they can't get carried to them.
26:09Binal resident, 70-year-old Sukhlal Seulal says at his age, he's seen this far too many
26:16times and is fed up of inaction by the authorities to effect real change in communities like his.
26:23We already have flood here, always have flood.
26:26Everything we have, we check, everything we had on Thursday.
26:31My children leave here because of this flood.
26:36They leave, we pray to God.
26:38Everything we have is destroyed.
26:39And the binding every time is destroying.
26:41Flood destroys everything.
26:42All I want to tell you is clean the river.
26:45Clean the river and make life easy for people.
26:49Do you understand?
26:50Clean the river and do what you're supposed to do.
26:53Another resident says people are part of the problem.
26:56He encouraged individuals to refrain from improperly disposing their garbage.
27:01This mess is set on nasty people.
27:03They only put their garbage in the bin, throw it in the river to come and probably drink.
27:07Global warming is a natural thing.
27:09We can't prevent this.
27:12We could do something to mitigate it, but we can't prevent it.
27:15It's things like that people have to stop dumping their rubbish indiscriminately.
27:20Cindy Raghubar-Tikasingh, TV6 News.
27:25Sport is up next.
27:26Keep it here.
27:32In sport, the West Indies lost a third straight toss and as a result,
27:37third straight T20 match against England who clinched the five-mat series 3-0.
27:42Captain Robman Powell was the standout with a half century as the Maroon men labored to 1.45.
27:49And despite a defiant four-wicket haul from Aqil Hossain,
27:52England resisted to win by three wickets to take the five-mat series 3-0.
27:58Skipper Robman Powell felt the switch to St. Lucia would give the Windies a fresh start.
28:03But the toss still loomed large as England won and sent the hosts into bat to good effect.
28:09When Archer had Nicklas Kuran goal for seven, the damage was already telling at 17 for three.
28:17And it got worse as Ruston Chase and Shimran Hetmaya were flummoxed by Shaqib Mahmood who had three scouts.
28:24The middle order under pressure once again would get rafting nuts from Skipper Powell and the enterprising Romario Sheppard.
28:31Sheppard though departed on 30 to Jamie Overton.
28:36Overton would also grab three wickets removing the skipper after an invaluable 54.
28:41At 113 for eight, Windies were on course for a small score but 32 from Alzari Joseph and Aqil Hossain
28:49would take them to a decent score of 145 for eight.
28:54145 was the Windies smallest total of the series but would prove their most competitive.
29:01That's because Aqil Hossain had filled Salt and Joss Butler back in the stands with 32 runs on the board.
29:09Will Jacks would make an almost runnable 53.
29:13But wickets from Gudu Kesimoto and Alzari Joseph would mean the Caribbean men were fighting at 75 for four.
29:19Sam Kuran's 26 of 41 and 39 of 28 from Leon Livingstone would tilt the scale in England's favour.
29:27Failing to hold on to catches didn't help the West Indies cause as well.
29:34Hossain followed up Terence Hines' maiden T20 wicket with two more himself.
29:40He would impress with four wickets for 22 runs but Jamie Overton and Red Ahmed managed the final right
29:46confirming the Windies' defeat, the host losing by three wickets as England sealed victory in the T20 series.
29:53Terence Clarke, TV6 Sports.
29:55And that's a wrap on the past seven days on six. I am Renessa Cutting.
29:59If you didn't catch this segment in its entirety, you can find it on our website www.tv6tnt.com
30:08and you can find all these stories and more on the TV6 mobile app.
30:13Thanks for choosing TV6 and do have a great evening.
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