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00:00Parents, strongly caution, this program contains some material that is unsuitable for young
00:13children.
00:43We'll be back after these messages.
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02:39Very special welcome, Trinidad and Tobago, and to our viewers across the globe, we want
02:49to wish you a happy new year.
02:51Of course, we're in a very new space now, Beyond the Tape, and we are optimistic in
02:56the coming year that we will hear more from you, the citizens of Trinidad and Tobago.
03:02And today, of course, no stranger, Captain Valens Rambarad from the Hunter's Search
03:07and Rescue team.
03:08Welcome, sir.
03:09Happy new year.
03:10Same to you, Mark, and a pleasant good evening to the viewership of Beyond the Tape.
03:15I like the settings here this evening, and really want to wish Trinidad and Tobago a
03:22really happy new year, and new beginnings, and new things, and positive things for the
03:28new year.
03:30Yeah, and certainly, we obviously believe that the engagement of citizens is extremely
03:37important to this show, and your opinions, and your suggestions, and your tips as well.
03:42So, we are hopeful with not just this new look of bells and whistles, but of course,
03:47that we will have more information, and we are also hopeful of a better year in terms
03:52of less crime in the country, Trinidad and Tobago.
03:55And less missing persons, because in December, we recorded 47 missing persons were reported,
04:02and that's a bit of a record.
04:05And it meant that we had to work right down to the end of the year.
04:09And we did a lot of work coming down.
04:11I thought when I left the program somewhere around the 14th, our work would have eased
04:16up.
04:17It didn't.
04:18It continued straight towards the end of the year.
04:20Yes, and I know that we were off air for about two weeks, and of course, a lot has
04:27happened within that two-week period, and we can't possibly bring you up to speed with
04:32everything, but we know one of the most current things is the state of emergency that was
04:38declared in the country.
04:41And we've had, you know, the police now has more powers of arrest, and they are going
04:48after, the commissioner would have indicated, the supposed big fish.
04:52As we try to contain these homicides, we had 624 homicides, a record, in the year 2024,
05:01and something that we certainly don't want to have a repeat of or even reach anywhere
05:05near that, as one murder is too many.
05:09One is too many, and I think with the state of emergency comes additional manpower, which
05:18was, I believe, was solely needed, and so you have now the soldiers with the powers
05:23of the police, and that gives them additional strength and additional muscle to tackle what
05:31is a big problem in the country.
05:34And I imagine everybody would have their own opinion about, you know, the call for the
05:40state of emergency, and we had journalists questioning the prime minister at a couple
05:45of briefings over the last week as to was it something that they should have done earlier,
05:51and of course the prime minister would have given his take on it.
05:55And we're not here to point fingers, of course.
05:57No, we're not here to point fingers.
05:59We want to try to find solutions rather to mitigate the bloodletting in this country.
06:06Yeah, I think there was too much blood on our streets, and it was in our homes.
06:11I think Matthew did a good job on Beyond the Tape in sensing that there was a gaining
06:18momentum coming towards the end of the year with respect to violent crime, with respect
06:24to lawlessness on the roads, and to me that we were galloping, and I don't know where
06:30we were going to, but I think the state of emergency is not something that you utilize
06:38often, must be utilized as a last resort.
06:42And I was reading that, you know, the issue of getting warrants to enter people's homes,
06:49the ones you're targeting, was becoming very difficult.
06:54And I think this SOE is different to others in the sense that life goes on, parties go
07:01on.
07:02I went to parties, a party when it was instituted, and life goes on.
07:08And the critical thing is that it is supposed to target those who are hellbent in having
07:16us each day witness violent crimes and blood on our streets.
07:22And I hope that the police officers really take this as a sacred duty to perform it with
07:29responsibility and not to enter other people's homes who are not the target of this state
07:36of emergency, because you must always have balance in everything you say and do.
07:42And Captain Rambarat, I want to bring the viewer's attention to something very critical
07:46that you raised, and I've been having a discussion with law enforcement personnel about this
07:51over the last week, and you referred to the issue of siege warrants.
07:56And under the AJUPA, there's this new law now that a lot of police officers have spoken
08:01with saying that it hampers their ability now to get a siege warrant in a timely manner.
08:08It takes quite a while now before you would just go to the justice of the peace.
08:12There are a lot of questions that are now being asked before a warrant is issued.
08:18And then, of course, protocol must be followed.
08:21Do you have some of the opinion, of course, that I think that that particular law,
08:25as it relates to this, might have to be in some way adjusted?
08:29I think so, too, because I read it. I heard of it sometime in December.
08:33So did I.
08:34And I understand it was proclaimed, and I understand what the police officers are saying,
08:38because if you read it, it's absolutely difficult for police officers to obtain a warrant.
08:46And, you know, obtaining a warrant is based on information.
08:50You have the information. You have to more or less act on it immediately.
08:54You cannot now go before this person and that person and wait days
08:59when the information is no longer relevant.
09:02And to me, that is a good thing.
09:05They have to adjust the law. I think the parliament has to take a real look at it.
09:10It's hampering the police officers.
09:12They've spoken out, and I think they need some redress with respect to obtaining warrants, search warrants.
09:19Yeah, definitely, because, you know, that time period, officer remarked to me is,
09:24for instance, if there's an alleged shipment or catch of firearms in a house
09:30and you receive credible information from an informant,
09:34the time it takes for you to actually get that warrant under this new system,
09:38they could perhaps have moved those arms and ammunition.
09:42And then the officers are saying that there are a lot of questions being asked
09:46before the warrant is even granted.
09:48They're asking you some questions like, who is your informant?
09:52And I don't think even in the world of journalism, we don't give up our sources, right?
09:57I don't expect the police to give up their sources.
09:59We also don't disclose our sources to anyone.
10:01And so, yeah, I think they have to seek redress in the parliament
10:07because that particular legislation has to – it cannot work in this current situation.
10:17Agreed, and that is an ongoing discussion.
10:19Of course, we will speak to, you know, our legal counsel tomorrow on that as well,
10:24Corporal Ali, because I'm sure he will have to weigh in on that as well,
10:29being from the TTPS as well, and they will have some voice on that.
10:32Of course, we also had, you know, the sad, you know, the funeral of a former MP,
10:39he said Julian Morris, on Tuesday last, you know, quite a number of officials,
10:44government officials and colleagues, family, hundreds of people on the street there in Arima,
10:53coming to pay their respects to somebody that they considered to be somebody
10:58that really was on the ground and was in touch with the people in the area she represented.
11:05And even outside of the area, a lot of people who would have interacted with her
11:09at the Ministry of Education and at other functions would have gone to that funeral
11:16to pay their respects.
11:18For those that might not have known, if you're tuning in for the first time,
11:24the MP died in a fire about two weeks ago in a home in Arima.
11:30Of course, that fire is still the subject of an investigation as to how it began.
11:36And the Minister of National Security has since appointed a three-man team
11:42to investigate the fire, looking to the probable cause.
11:46I know that the fire officer said that they have compiled some kind of report
11:50that has been handed over.
11:52So we don't want to speculate.
11:54And I see there are a lot of things being said on social media within the last week or so
11:58about what might have caused the fire.
12:01But let's just wait for the official word to see what happens in that respect.
12:05Yeah, and with respect to Lisa Morris-Julian,
12:10she dealt directly with hunters, search and rescue team, with every single missing person,
12:17not only in her constituency but the wider Arima area.
12:21And she is one of a few MPs, I would say.
12:25Rashdan Parry is one, Kennedy in Point 14,
12:29and a few others who really reach out to us when there are missing persons in their constituency.
12:36And I respect her for that.
12:39There was a homeless, alleged homeless gentleman who was swept away,
12:44swept down a river in a flood in the Arima district.
12:49And we were in sea dress overnight, and she called me.
12:53And I said, Lisa, I would break the steam in half and send up half early in the morning from the carcass.
13:00And they went, and they found the body within the first three hours of the morning.
13:06And she was there. She was there.
13:08And that's the type of support.
13:10But I respected her for that.
13:13Yes, she was that type of person.
13:15And I know as we are on the issue of missing persons,
13:19I just wanted to kind of orchestrate and understand that a couple of the missing persons
13:23that we would have highlighted recently have been found within the last month or so,
13:28and I know that is good news.
13:30Well, yes. So December ended with 47.
13:34That's too much for one month.
13:38And more than that, we have only been able to account for 27,
13:44which means that 20 remains unaccounted for.
13:48Now, we intend to reveal our statistics for 2024 and beyond.
13:54All right?
13:55But we do so, if not this next week, Monday, the week after that,
13:59because the work for December continues.
14:02We want to be able to reduce that number, that 20, which is unaccounted for, to probably five or six.
14:09And looking at the persons, I think that we want to achieve that.
14:13So when we reveal the statistics for 2024, it could stand the scrutiny of anybody inquiring into it.
14:24But we had a situation.
14:26I kept referring to Karina Sanchez.
14:29We went out on missions, and now I could speak freely about it.
14:33We went on missions with the police in the North Manzanilla District.
14:39Our information is that she was being held against her will, and she was being kept in a camp.
14:46We spent a lot of time in the North Manzanilla District looking for her.
14:54And a situation came up in December.
15:00She was able to send out a photo where a snake bit her on her hand.
15:10And that was a breakthrough we needed, because we know that she was in a desperate situation.
15:16She needed medical attention.
15:19And that information came as to where she was.
15:24And we moved in with the support of the Manzanilla Police, and we were able to get her.
15:32She was taken to the Manzanilla Police Station.
15:36She gave her statements indicating what I just said.
15:40And yes, this is the, you can see the two bites there?
15:43Yes, yes.
15:44On the, where the two, on her hand.
15:47And that was the breakthrough we needed.
15:49I posted, we posted that on our page.
15:52And asked every health institution if they attended to a person with marks like that.
15:57And then after 83 days, she went missing on the 4th of October.
16:04After 83 days, we were able to reunite her with her mother and her father.
16:10And this is something that I think when we speak about these missing teenagers,
16:17the reason why we look into every single case is because not every single case is the same,
16:23and you can't judge all the time what happens.
16:27It took us a long time, but it showed why we are a dedicated team of volunteers
16:34who will really try to assist you when your loved ones go missing.
16:38So this is one of the cases.
16:40And the other case is about Pete Phillip.
16:45Pete Phillip is still missing.
16:47He was the rig worker on Rig 110 down in the East Soldado Field that remains unaccounted for.
16:57Mark, that incident happened at 6.09 a.m.
17:03We were near the rig at about 10 a.m. on that boat that is being shown there.
17:12Right.
17:13We hired, we secured our own marine craft, and we got within distance.
17:19And one might ask the question,
17:21what is a search and rescue team made up of volunteers doing on a marine craft?
17:26How could we have assisted?
17:28Well, let me explain to you.
17:30Early that morning, we were scouring the Internet for the coordinates of that rig.
17:36We didn't know where it was.
17:38So we decided to go ourselves and get the coordinates.
17:42The second thing is that we conducted a subsurface current test,
17:48a simple fishing line with a weight,
17:51and we were able to figure out that the subsurface current was running southwest.
17:58Then we needed to figure out what was the closest point to land from that rig,
18:04and it was six kilometers off Point Cocoa.
18:08Right.
18:09So we were out there.
18:11We searched for him.
18:12We conducted foot patrols, but we were unable to locate him, that's all.
18:18Well, we're hopeful that at some point Mr. Phillips' body would recover
18:23because you're in recovery now.
18:26And, again, we are also happy that there was a happy ending to that Sanchez case,
18:33which you all had pursued for quite a while, if memory serves me right,
18:37and we had a lot of off-camera discussions about it.
18:41Yes.
18:42All right.
18:43We're going to quickly go to our headlines.
19:05All right.
19:06We're going to quickly go to our headlines.
19:07Of course, you know, that last police release there,
19:09there was clarification that there was no alleged bomb threat
19:13at the Bessel Street Police Station that was apparently being reported on social media.
19:19And, of course, we always have to warn people that everything you see on social media,
19:24you cannot believe.
19:26You cannot believe.
19:27And, you know, go to the right or credible sources of information,
19:31whether it be media or a particular establishment,
19:34who might be able to give credence or not to that particular situation.
19:41And, in this case, of course, it turned out to be false news.
19:45All right.
19:46We're going to take a short break, and we'll be back.
19:47Stay with us.
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21:43Welcome back to Beyond the Tape.
21:44I'm your host Marc Besson.
21:45Of course, we're joined today by Captain Valence Rambarat
21:48from the Hunter, Search and Rescue Team.
21:50And we're going to pick up the discussion, of course,
21:53as it relates to Dane Hussein and Sangri Gandhi
21:55that was found in a car a couple weeks ago.
21:58Yeah.
21:59So, Dane, by the time we got a call,
22:02we got a call from his sister that he was missing.
22:05He had left his girlfriend's home close by
22:08and he was driving a white Almirah motor car
22:13and he never made it home.
22:15This was on Christmas evening and we immediately responded.
22:22While we were on our way to the Sangri Gandhi area,
22:26we got information that from a resident in a particular area
22:31that there was a white vehicle on fire
22:34and we were able to gather up the relatives
22:38and then we moved to that area where the vehicle was on fire.
22:43So, thankfully, the vehicle, the fire was extinguished
22:49and when the trunk was opened,
22:53Dane's body was found in the trunk.
22:57I know they had to do a post-mortem on it.
23:00I'm not familiar with the results of the post-mortem.
23:04But that find in that particular area
23:11speaks to the fact that there are people out there
23:14who are willing to share information
23:16and the person who spotted that vehicle burning
23:19is really in an area where information has had to come by
23:25but we were able to get it.
23:26They trust us and they were able to say,
23:28listen, I want to tell you where this vehicle is burning
23:32and they directed us to the location.
23:35So, in a sense, it's closure.
23:38It brought a quick closure for Dane Hussein Jr.'s family.
23:44And so, it speaks to getting information from the public
23:51and that is why, March 4th, December 2024,
23:59we have a record number of persons
24:02who we are unable to account for.
24:05And that is 20, if you include Pete Phillip,
24:09that's the missing brickworker in San Fernando.
24:13We've been unable to locate Ishmael Edwards.
24:18And I want to ask the public,
24:20if you have information on these persons,
24:23please call us at 799-1453.
24:27These families are distraught
24:29and they're looking for some information
24:32so that they can find their loved ones.
24:35We still have Dijani Fenty who is missing.
24:39We have Casey Smith right now on the line.
24:41Oh, Casey Smith, yeah.
24:43Casey Smith, we got a couple of videos
24:46in terms of what Casey has been up to
24:50and we still haven't been able to locate her,
24:53but from the videos, she seems to be enjoying herself.
24:58But we want to tell Casey, your mom is waiting on that call.
25:02All right, then we have Dijani Fenty
25:05who is missing from the Enterprise District
25:07since the 7th of December.
25:10Then we have Jaden Jackson.
25:12This is really someone who is missing,
25:14a boy who is missing from the Children's Authority,
25:19one of the homes,
25:20and we haven't been able to get much information
25:23on Jaden Jackson,
25:24but he was last seen in Fairfield and Princess Town.
25:30And then we have Ricky George.
25:33We still haven't been able to account for Ricky George
25:36from the Keurip Center of Austin District.
25:39And we have Sean Lee Martinez.
25:43This is Sean, again, Children's Authority.
25:46Yes.
25:47And he's the second.
25:48He's a repeat.
25:49He was missing sometime in August of 2024.
25:54Then you have Michael Charles.
25:56We have absolutely no information on Michael
25:59since he went missing from Valencia on the 11th of December.
26:04And then we have Mathieu Bardot.
26:08Now, Mathieu, we launched a search for him.
26:12We have video footage of him
26:14in front of P. Less supermarket
26:16walking in the Princess Town District
26:19at about 12, between 12 midnight and 12.30 a.m.,
26:27and he simply disappeared on us.
26:30We were able to locate his wallet and phone and his slippers,
26:34and this is an ongoing search
26:36because we learned to find Mathieu.
26:40Dwayne Collingwood, we have no information on Dwayne Collingwood,
26:45and we have two members working on this case.
26:49So Elijah Stevens is still missing.
26:53This is a young man.
26:55Oh, we have Natalie.
26:57You remember this case, Mark,
26:59where a businessman from Davie went missing
27:02and his body was thrown out in the, I believe,
27:08is the Moriah Road area in Ragunanan Road?
27:13Vaguely.
27:14Vaguely.
27:15There were so many.
27:16Yes, so many, yes.
27:18And what happened is that Natalie was with him,
27:22and she's a Venezuelan, and she remains unaccounted for.
27:27Elijah Stevens, this is a case that we're working on quietly.
27:31I am heading, leading the search for Elijah Stevens.
27:36It's very complicated, but we intend to find him.
27:40Crystal Foster, we have to do some follow-up work on Crystal Foster.
27:48She went missing on the 20th of December,
27:51and we have another Venezuelan who is missing,
27:56Rodriguez.
27:58Our migrant contact referred this missing person to us
28:03from the Arima District,
28:05and we've been unable to locate her thus far.
28:09Tyrese Amoroso, his car was found burnt in the Chaguanas District,
28:15and he remains unaccounted for.
28:18We're not sure if he was a victim of a crime,
28:22but there's no development with respect to Tyrese Amoroso.
28:28Genesis Ruben, we believe she was located,
28:33and we have some problems contacting the parents,
28:36so we still have her unaccounted for.
28:40Danelle Hamlet from the Sawa area,
28:43she went missing on Christmas Eve.
28:45She is still missing, as well as Devon Phillip,
28:49who is from the Chatham District,
28:52and we've made no progress at all with respect to locating Mr. Devon Phillip.
29:00Shaka Robinson, a security guard,
29:03born and a guard in Saruka, missing since the 18th,
29:07and no progress on this case.
29:09And then we have Shane Thomas.
29:11Well, Shane is a repeat missing person.
29:15He has some issues,
29:18and when Shane's name comes up for the third and fourth time,
29:23we tend to say, all right, Shane will show up at some point in time.
29:26And the 20th person, of course, is Pete Phillip from the rig incident.
29:33There were some names, of course,
29:35I remember there was these two guys who had left their home in Point 40,
29:39and the last was seen in D.B. in Long Circular.
29:43What has happened to that matter?
29:44Nothing has come out of it.
29:45We continue to liaise with a brother and the police up in the Marava area,
29:50but they've been unable to make any progress.
29:54And I think it's unfortunate that these men just vanish into thin air.
30:01And then we had the kidnapping of Shastri Rampersad in the Enterprise area,
30:08I believe in late November or something.
30:09Yes, Shastri Anand Rampersad.
30:13Correct.
30:14Well, Mark, the family did reach out to us during the period of time,
30:20and we allowed for whatever negotiations to take place,
30:25and we were hopeful that when the ransom was paid on December the 5th,
30:32that he would have been released.
30:35However, Shastri remains unaccounted for,
30:40and we're asking members of the public.
30:42He was taken from Pierce Street in Enterprise,
30:46and we're asking anybody who has information to please come forward.
30:52We want to at least bring some relief to this family.
30:57Mark, it's heartbreaking when you have to meet with these families.
31:02You're confirming, of course, that a ransom was paid because a lot of people were not familiar.
31:09Things had gone cold.
31:11Yes.
31:12Over the last month, I imagine.
31:14Yes.
31:16Well, now you're optimistic that he should have been released.
31:20Yes.
31:21What happened?
31:22He was paid on December the 5th,
31:23and I could see also that a proof-of-life video was sent.
31:32Not really a proof-of-life, but a video was sent with no data attached to it.
31:39So the family was really hopeful they would have had Shastri and Rampersad home for Christmas,
31:45and that has not materialized.
31:48So we're currently engaging the family.
31:51We intend to conduct some searches.
31:55Well, we are asking those that have Mr. Rampersad in their possession to release him.
32:03We are kindly asking,
32:05and we hope that his family will also be happily reunited with him sooner rather than later.
32:12So please, anyone with information, contact the relevant authorities,
32:16but those that have Mr. Rampersad in their possession,
32:20please release him now that you've been paid what you had been asked for.
32:26I think the family kept their end of the deal,
32:29and I think it's only a principled position that you release Shastri to his family.
32:38Yes, most definitely.
32:39And just quickly, the reports for January so far, just walk us through that.
32:45Right. So for January 2025, we've had nine reports thus far,
32:50and I believe we better account for five persons, four unaccounted for,
32:56and if I may just share with you those names.
32:59And if you have information, please…
33:01First up is Neela Garib.
33:03Yes, so please, Neela Garib is a repeat over the years.
33:07Her mental health is compromised, and she's somewhere on the East-West Corridor.
33:14So if you see this lady somewhere on that tree or by some bus shed,
33:20please call 799-1453, and we will be there to assist in getting her to her relatives.
33:29But yeah, and then this case came up, I believe last night,
33:33Merica Harry, and we're currently dealing with it.
33:37And for those of you down in the Palo Seco area who know Ants,
33:41I spoke to Ants last night.
33:43I tried calling him on my way up, but he is the key to finding Merica Harry,
33:49I spoke firmly to him, and I expect that he will ensure that Merica Harry goes home to her loved ones.
34:01Come on, Ants. Help us to help Miss Harry. Come on.
34:05Yes, and then Kimaya Bishop.
34:08Well, Kimaya is very familiar to us.
34:11This case came up today. Her mom called me.
34:15So she's a repeat runaway teenager from the Barataria district.
34:21I thought her problems were resolved, but she only came on our radar today.
34:28So we have work to do, and Crystal Collins from coal mining, Sandy Grandy,
34:33came on our radar today as well, and we have to find out more about possibly where she is
34:41so that work will continue for the rest of the week.
34:44All right. So we're hopeful that those people who are missing any information,
34:50please call Hunter Search and Rescue 799-1453 or the nearest local police station.
34:59All right. We're going to take a short break, and we'll be back with your calls.
35:02Stay with us.
35:03Stay with us.
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36:30Welcome back to Beyond the Tape.
36:31I'm your host, Mark Bassan, joined today in our new studio by Clarence.
36:35Violence.
36:36Violence.
36:37I'm Brad, captain.
36:39And of course, one of the most topical and very controversial subject matters right now
36:45within the last 48 hours, or maybe 72 hours,
36:49is this issue of those gel blaster guns, toy guns,
36:54that are being used popularly across the country.
36:57And, of course, the commissioner of police,
36:59Ms. Eleanor Herewood-Christopher, saying that it's supposedly illegal.
37:04Yes, she issued a warning.
37:06Yes, she issued a warning.
37:08And apparently, you know, God forbid that, you know,
37:11there seemed that there was an incident just within the last 24 to 48 hours
37:18in the central district where apparently the police version that is indicated
37:24that they saw some men bandaging what they appeared to be firearms in the dark,
37:29and they shot at the men who apparently pointed,
37:32one of the men pointed the supposed weapon at them,
37:37and, you know, they fired back.
37:40And the person was injured, a teenager, and he was taken to hospital.
37:44And we have an audio clip of a person who is challenging the version of the police.
37:54Of course, we did speak to a senior there earlier in the day,
37:58but he was tied up in some meetings, but he did promise to get back to me.
38:02But, you know, as I said, there are many versions to this story.
38:07We just want to take a quick listen at some of the audio that was put up on social media.
38:14I'm not hearing you. I'm not hearing it.
38:20So I am assuming we are having some technical issues.
38:24Okay. I'm not hearing you over there.
38:36Very soft.
38:44Okay.
38:49Okay.
39:14Okay.
39:45Okay.
40:06All right.
40:07So basically what she was saying in the video with the audio,
40:11I think we played the audio,
40:12was that she is challenging the version of the police officers,
40:17indicating that they were doing a gathering inside of a yard in a house,
40:22playing cards and so on.
40:23They were playing the game before,
40:25and she's claiming that the young boy was in a room
40:33when police shot at the house, allegedly,
40:38and the bullet came through the wall and struck him in the head.
40:43That's her version of what transpired.
40:46Something like a stray bullet.
40:48Something to that effect.
40:51But she's showing some video of the bullet holes.
40:55She's showing other things in the video to substantiate
40:58what she is claiming to be the true version of the story.
41:02Of course, we weren't there, so we have to wait and see.
41:06But the issue of the gel blasters, we could talk about.
41:10I looked at it.
41:12I didn't know there were gel blaster wars going on in Trinidad.
41:15I saw it on social media where people were on vehicles
41:19and they were going to meet their friends who had vehicles,
41:24and they were shooting at each other.
41:26Now, for a person who is into safety and security,
41:33when I saw the gel blaster for the first time,
41:36I thought about people's eyes,
41:38and I said I wonder if they took that into consideration
41:43because someone was telling me that even though you get
41:47a pretty little stiff hit when it hits the skin,
41:50and that's one thing.
41:52Then the other issue is I don't think that that is needed now
41:55in Trinidad and Tobago given the situation.
41:58Stay away from anything that looks like a gun.
42:02And I saw a gel blaster that was repainted
42:07to look exactly like an assault rifle.
42:11I saw it with my own eyes.
42:13I saw it today, and therefore I want to urge the citizens
42:19that we back out of school, put away the gel blasters.
42:23We're in a period of time when crime has been managed
42:27and violent crime, and we don't want to see guns around.
42:32It's creating a problem, so therefore just put it away
42:36because we, as you just saw, there are issues surrounding it,
42:42and the Commission of Police has clearly sent a warning
42:48that some of these gel blasters may be illegal.
42:52All right, we're going to take a short break on that note,
42:55and we'll be back.
42:56Stay with us.
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43:48Plenty of people wonder how different they would be
43:51if they had a more supportive family.
43:53Not dragging them down or always saying something negative.
43:57Don't be that parent, nah?
44:02Providing support for your child can help them feel confident and capable.
44:07This includes offering help when needed,
44:10praising the efforts, and cheering them on.
44:13Never stop being their biggest cheerleaders
44:16in good times and in bad times.
44:19At the end of the day,
44:20do your best and let your children know you have their back.
44:24Share if you found this useful,
44:26and like and follow our profile for more parenting tips.
44:31Letter of the day.
44:32S. Supportive.
44:39Welcome back to Beyond the Tape.
44:40I'm your host, Marc Besant,
44:41with Captain Valence Rambaran from the Hunter's Switch and Rescue Team.
44:45We want to remind you of the numbers to call.
44:46623-1711 Extensions.
44:501992, 1993, 1994, 1996, and 1997.
44:56A little bit rusty because it's been a little bit, yes.
44:59The numbers are on your screen there.
45:01So, you know, we really want to hear from you
45:04because your ideas, your questions, your opinions, your suggestions
45:09will be welcomed here, of course,
45:11and for the greater public and who's listening.
45:14You know, it's extremely important
45:15to have that interaction with you, the public.
45:18Yes, and we're nice to know their take on the gel blasters
45:22because it's a developing story.
45:24Yes, I mean, it's a serious thing.
45:26You know, there's always a trend in Trinidad and Tobago.
45:28Yes.
45:29At one point, there's something, and now it's the gel blasters.
45:33But it comes at a time where, you know,
45:35gun violence is really out of hand in the country.
45:38Yes.
45:39And we have that hand in hand.
45:41And I don't think we need that in our lives at this point in time.
45:45So I think some tough questions need to be asked of the Customs
45:51and Excise Division, you know,
45:54allowing these toy guns to come into the country and so on.
45:58And we are hopeful, you know, sometimes they're very silent.
46:01And I make no apologies for saying that.
46:04And, you know, it's important that, you know,
46:06we always put all the blame on the police,
46:08but there are other law enforcement agencies who are the watchdogs
46:12on the border that, you know,
46:14if they know that it's not something that we should be encouraging,
46:17I mean, purchased by store owners and so on,
46:21then you put it on a blacklist and say,
46:23no, we're not allowing that into the country.
46:25I think there's something called situational awareness.
46:29And you have to be aware of what's going on in the country
46:32and make decisions based on that.
46:34Yes, of course.
46:36And, you know, we spoke about the state of emergency earlier,
46:40and one of the things that we have to marry with that
46:43is the advent of gang violence that has really rocked this nation last year,
46:50a lot of homicides related to gang violence.
46:53A huge chunk of those homicides were related to gang violence.
46:59Okay, our first caller is on the line for 20-25.
47:02Caller, good evening.
47:05Hello, good evening.
47:06Good evening. Go ahead.
47:08I was just about to make a comment, and I saw you mentioned it on TV,
47:12because, I mean, these guns aren't manufactured in the country,
47:14so, I mean, they have to be, I mean, from some port to the other.
47:18So why do we wait until they're already purchased by retailers
47:22or to the consumers, then to take a DVD out, you know?
47:25I think we could have done better in this case.
47:29We agree with you, caller, on that one.
47:32We could have done much better in this instance,
47:34and it's probably the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing.
47:39And we have to deal with what problem it poses.
47:45But, as I said, it doesn't take much for us to put it away or get rid of it.
47:51Yes, certainly, and, you know, as you said, the discussion,
47:55the police officers will give their opinion, their take,
47:59and they will encourage personnel who have these toy guns, painting it in black.
48:04I hear that's what they have been doing.
48:06And in the night, if you have something like that holding in the dark,
48:11it looks like a real firearm.
48:13It will look like an assaulted firearm.
48:15So you have to be mindful of that.
48:17Now, I know in this particular situation that happened in Kanupia,
48:20you know, the disputing events of the police,
48:24and, of course, we know that they're colorful toy guns,
48:29and you can see it in the day, of course.
48:31But we really don't want to have a situation where somebody is shot and killed
48:37in Trinidad and Tobago holding a toy gun or aiming a toy gun at law enforcement officers
48:43and not complying to put the toy weapon down.
48:47Yes, so avoid public spaces.
48:49Keep it confined to your homes.
48:51Be careful of your eyes because I'm not seeing anybody talking about it,
48:56but I saw what the gel looks like and I saw what the gun looks like.
49:01My first reaction was the eyes.
49:04If that hits you in your eye, you can have an issue.
49:07Yes, because when you're playing pinball and so on,
49:11you have to have on protective goggles and so on because that can also sting.
49:15Yes.
49:16Right? I mean, we all did pinball at some point.
49:18But you go in a range where it's in a contained area and you have the safety wear on and so on,
49:24so if you hit, it doesn't damage your eyes.
49:27You have to be careful, make sure that there are no vehicles passing by outside the gate.
49:34So there's a lot of precautions that has to be taken to use the gel blasters, but put it away.
49:43Yes, certainly.
49:45On a more serious note, just in the last couple of hours on the 5th of January,
49:52officers from the Northeastern Central and Police and the Port of Spain Division, sorry,
49:57they would have held six persons and seized three firearms
50:03as they continued their unrelentless pursuit on illegal firearms.
50:11It's three different exercises,
50:16but they did find the common denominator here being the weapons,
50:22these firearms that you see on your screens.
50:25And the Assistant Commissioner of Police, just let me finish this,
50:28of Tactical Support, Carlos Hazel, commented on the fine and said,
50:32the criminal elements may be praying to not be brought to justice,
50:36but our prayers are stronger and we are backing it up.
50:39The police will do well to remember that no weapon formed against the TTPS
50:43and the citizens of Trinidad and Tobago shall prosper.
50:46Shall prosper.
50:47I believe now they have the 17 firearms recovered, and I think that is excellent.
50:53I just want to make one point about the SOE.
50:56Sure.
50:57And as it pertains to the lady who was given a different version,
51:03there is the tribunal, and I think that has been set up
51:08so that persons who have issues with respect to,
51:13if you feel that your rights have been violated in some form or fashion,
51:19you can take a case to the tribunal.
51:21So it's really, as I said earlier, it's a balance you're looking for.
51:26So you don't want to hand the powers to the police and the army,
51:30and then you don't want to have avenue to address genuine citizens' concerns
51:37that may arise and conflict that may arise.
51:41So you have to have a tribunal to resolve these issues.
51:45Yes, yes. Okay, we have a call on the line.
51:47Caller, good evening.
51:48Hi, David. Happy New Year.
51:50Same to you, sir.
51:51Happy New Year.
51:52I want to talk about the gel blasters.
51:54Most of these guns that you see, they were being sold in stores
51:57by vendors downtown for Christmas.
52:00Why wasn't this picked up by Toronto-Tobago Police Service
52:04as it poses a national security risk?
52:06These gel blasters mimic real firearms,
52:10which should not be used in Toronto-Tobago at this time,
52:13especially in a state of emergency.
52:15That's all I wanted to contribute.
52:18Caller, thanks a lot for your thoughts,
52:20and, of course, we have been saying we are agreeing with you,
52:24and I know that it's a process because they were already in the stores being sold.
52:30And people bought them.
52:31A trend started to develop pretty quickly,
52:34and, of course, questions now have to be asked about,
52:37you know, in relation to the, you know, bringing them into the country.
52:42Customs has to get involved at some juncture, not just the police.
52:46The police will do their work to seize these supposed real-looking toy guns
52:52that people are purchasing and so on.
52:55Yeah, and it's a question of trying to close the door after the horse has bolted.
53:00But I think an appeal to citizens,
53:02the vast majority of citizens in Trinidad and Tobago are right-thinking citizens,
53:08and if you feel that you've made a bad purchase based on new information,
53:14set aside these guns and move on to something else.
53:18All right, on that note, we're going to take a short break and we'll be back.
53:21Stay with us.
53:27Guess what, everyone?
53:29Today on our class trip to the Nature Seekers Center,
53:31we saw amazing animals and learned all about their solar PV system.
53:35That's wonderful, Dolly.
53:37Well, come and tell us more.
53:39They showed us how solar power works and how it's helping them save money and the environment.
53:43Wait, wait.
53:44You said save money?
53:46And we get to save the planet, too?
53:48That sounds like something we should look into, sweetie.
53:50So, you have any more pictures?
53:51Yeah.
53:58It starts here.
54:00With the Trinidad Express newspapers.
54:03To enhance your reading experience,
54:06our back page will now carry the second biggest story of the day,
54:10leading to all of the content you want.
54:13Local and international news, sports, weather, lifestyle articles, puzzles, and more.
54:20So, whether you like reading from the front or the back,
54:23our new design has you in mind.
54:27It starts here with the Trinidad Express newspapers.
54:32Welcome back to Beyond the Tape.
54:36I'm your host, Mark Bassan, joined today by Captain Valence Rambarat
54:39from the Hunter's Search and Rescue Team.
54:42And we simply want to wish each and every one of you a very happy 2025
54:47as we go into a year, and we're hopeful that everybody will get what they need.
54:52You know, wish them all the success, health, and prosperity.
54:56And I know there's a special person that you want to wish health, success, and prosperity.
55:01Yes, and that's my mom.
55:03She'll be 80 years old this coming Sunday, Ms. Lynn Rambarat.
55:07We had a wonderful luncheon for her last Saturday,
55:11and she's a strong fan of Beyond the Tape.
55:14She supports Hunter's Search and Rescue Team,
55:17and she's still active and working.
55:21So, Mom, I know you tuned in.
55:24On behalf of the viewership here at Beyond the Tape, Mark Bassan, our producer,
55:29and everybody here, we want to wish you a happy 80th birthday this Sunday.
55:35All right.
55:36So, as I also said, you know, it's a new look for Beyond the Tape,
55:40but we also want to engage citizens of Trinidad and Tobago as we go into this new year.
55:46We are hopeful to hear more from you.
55:49Any questions, suggestions, any videos, any pictures of anything that is troubling?
55:55Of course, you know, it's beyondthetape1atgmail.com.
56:00That's beyondthetape1atgmail.com.
56:04Send all your photos, videos, any kind of information that you would like to send to us.
56:10Send it to that medium, of course, and we will sift through it.
56:14And, you know, we are hopeful, with your assistance, to make Trinidad and Tobago a better one,
56:20and not just showing crime but also helping to find solutions to problems that the communities
56:27and various communities face.
56:29And you will see that we at Beyond the Tape are vested in doing that in the coming weeks and months
56:34as we're going to various communities to find out some of the issues
56:38and how we can better fix Trinidad and Tobago.
56:41I think that's very important because, as I said earlier, the vast majority of Trinidad and Tobago citizens
56:48are right-thinking persons, and they sit quietly in their communities.
56:55But the new order of the gang is that these persons must remain silent.
57:02We have to get these persons to wake up and take charge of their communities,
57:06the pastors, the teachers, everybody who lives in the community.
57:10They're excellent persons who live in some of these communities.
57:14I know them well.
57:16I want to say I've been through enterprise, and I was so touched by the level of skillful people in enterprise.
57:25And there is hope for these communities.
57:28You see, Mark, in societies you go through problematic times, and these will resolve over a period of time.
57:36You just have to go do the right thing, make sure that you bring the issues to the citizens,
57:42and we will find solutions to them.
57:45All right.
57:47We're hopeful and optimistic as we look forward to 2025 that you will be on with us
57:53and you will be on board with us as we go forward.
57:56All right, we run tonight at 1130.
57:59We run again tomorrow at 11 o'clock.
58:02Guess what?
58:03The TV6 News is up next.
58:04Stay with us.
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