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00:00This program contains graphic scenes. View and discussion is advised.
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02:22It starts here.
02:24With the Trinidad Express newspapers.
02:27To enhance your reading experience, our back page will now carry the second biggest story of the day, leading to all of the content you want.
02:37Local and international news, sports, weather, lifestyle articles, puzzles, and more.
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02:51It starts here.
02:52With the Trinidad Express newspapers.
03:06Welcome to Beyond the Tape. I'm your host, Marc Besson.
03:08Welcome to our viewers across Trinidad and Tobago.
03:12And of course, our viewers across the globe.
03:15It's day 43 of the state of emergency.
03:19And you can imagine the number of things that were happening over the weekend.
03:22You know, and also we have the Acting Commissioner of Police, who also spoke to the media over the weekend.
03:28And today it's Monday, of course.
03:30And we want to welcome Captain Valence Rambrad from the Hunter's Search and Rescue Team.
03:35Welcome, Captain. How are you?
03:37Fine, thank you, Marc. A pleasant good afternoon to our viewership on Beyond the Tape.
03:41And it's a pleasure to be here once again.
03:43A very interesting weekend.
03:45But, Marc, I want to say on behalf of Hunter's Search and Rescue Team, congratulations to our Acting Commissioner, Junior Benjamin, on his appointment.
03:56And as well, DCP Kurt Simon.
03:59And I think the leadership, there is leadership in place.
04:02That was a concern.
04:04And that was fixed.
04:06And I think Junior Benjamin has to lead.
04:10And I did write on our Facebook page that what is really required for the police service is transformative leadership to change the status quo.
04:21And with that comes a lot of disappointment, Marc, for you to make changes around the place or around you.
04:28A lot of persons have to be disappointed.
04:31And you have to make progressive changes.
04:33You have to look at what the population requires of you.
04:36And a lot of other things.
04:37But I did write that on his page.
04:38I want to wish him all the best during this period.
04:42Yes, certainly.
04:43And, you know, one of the biggest stories across the last couple of years and over the weekend was the police, well, somebody would have gone to the area and debay a long-circular and then alerted the police.
04:57So the remains of a second person found their couple a week or so after, I believe, it was Mr. Rostat.
05:06The remains of Mr. Rostat was found.
05:08Winston Rostat.
05:09They believe it is the remains of missing businessman Shashi Ananpasad, Rampasad, sorry, that has been missing, I think, since November.
05:21November 2024, yes.
05:23Right.
05:24So it certainly, you know, of course, they'll have to perform various tests before they can confirm if it is in fact the missing businessman.
05:34As you would have recalled, Mr. Rampasad was kidnapped.
05:38He went to he was doing some business in the enterprise area and he had gone there in a little truck.
05:47In a truck.
05:48To deliver some material.
05:49He went to Patriots Enterprise.
05:51Right.
05:52To deliver some aggregate and that is where the kidnapping incident took place.
05:57Mark, I just want to say on this issue, patience is needed because we had two gentlemen from Point 14.
06:04Yes.
06:05Who left Point 14 and we were able to confirm that they were in the debay long-circular road area.
06:14We, in fact, did some searches in the area close to where they were found in river trees in debay circular.
06:21And we have to have some patience because bodies have been unearthed.
06:27There are families involved.
06:28Yes.
06:29But the necessary DNA testing must be done to positively identify whose remains were found in those graves.
06:39And I think it's a traumatic time for all three families.
06:43But if you look at it logically, it could have been the bodies thus far of Junior Till and Winston Roster.
06:52Could have been Shashi and Rampasad.
06:55So we need to stop the speculation and wait further for confirmation of whose remains they were.
07:05Yes.
07:06And that is why it's extremely important that we allow the police to do their work and not assume anything.
07:11Of course, as Mr. Ambat would have pointed out, you know, there might be speculation.
07:15But until that is confirmed by various tests done through the police,
07:20then we'll be able to say exactly who those remains belong to over the weekend.
07:26And, of course, speculatively, sorry, of course, the mother of Mr. Roster would have spoken to the media believing it.
07:34ID card.
07:35And so probably in that case, you know, there's maybe a slight attempt to identify the person.
07:42But it could only be positively identified based on the number of days the bodies were there by DNA testing.
07:51I hope that they can get that done quickly.
07:54All right.
07:55So we have a video from the acting commissioner of police, Mr. Junior Benjamin.
08:02We wanted to share that video with you.
08:04Let's take a look.
08:09I'm Junior Benjamin and I'm the acting commissioner of police in the Toronto Regional Police Service.
08:14It is indeed a privilege to be here to serve and to be part and parcel of the change that is to come within the organization.
08:23I want to say a pleasant morning to you all.
08:26My name is Junior Benjamin.
08:27I am the acting commissioner of police.
08:29And I thought it fitting to come and introduce myself to all the floors and to really just give a greeting.
08:38All right.
08:39As you recognize, I do not have my bulletproof vest on, so it's not going to be long.
08:46I am here to be a commissioner of police for all, for special reserve officers, for regular police officers, for the civilian staff, for every person.
08:55It means, therefore, your interest becomes my interest.
09:00And, therefore, I want to ensure that all persons within the TTPS, at least you have the right facilities.
09:07You have the right equipment.
09:09You have the right training.
09:10Whatever you need, I must ensure that it is done.
09:13And, therefore, in return, I'm asking that you really give me your best.
09:18It has to be that everybody would raise the standard to ensure that the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service produce its very best.
09:26This is a new season.
09:27It is a new time.
09:28I am confident that we will see a positive change, not just within the organization, but for Trinidad and Tobago.
09:36As we fight the spirit of crime, we will accomplish our destiny and goal and vision, which is to make every place in Trinidad and Tobago safe.
09:47Let us work together, and let us see true success, because success is small things done correctly, consistently.
09:55So, let's start with that, and I'm certain that, in the end, we will have a successful year.
10:03So, Acting Commissioner of Police there, Junior Benjamin, a commissioner for all, Captain Rambarat.
10:09Yes, and he says they're going to look at doing things, small things, correctly, consistently.
10:16Good words from excellent words, trying to motivate the forces that he has under his control.
10:21Excellent.
10:22Yes, certainly.
10:23So, I know it's a very difficult time right now in the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service, but, of course, Acting Commissioner of Police, Junior Benjamin, trying to, obviously, keep that morale up and ensure that the work must continue.
10:38And to ensure that his officers are well taken care of, he spoke of equipment, he spoke of working facilities, and these things are very important because you need to motivate your employees extrinsically to get the best out of them, intrinsically.
10:56Most certainly.
10:58All right, we're going to take a look now at our stats for the State of Emergency, Day 43, up to Day 43.
11:07And thus far, number of operations conducted, 2,328.
11:13Priority offenders targeted, 1,978.
11:17Seizures conducted, 15,528.
11:21Traffic operations, 2,038.
11:26Total persons arrested, 1,741.
11:30Traffic offenses detected, 7,781.
11:35Firearms recovered, 82.
11:37Ammunition recovered, 1,653.
11:41And dangerous drugs seized thus far, 295,655 grams of cannabis and 1,206-odd grams of cocaine.
11:52Yeah, and I see firearms continue to be increased as the SOE progresses.
12:0082 is a good number to be at at this point in time.
12:03And also I saw the cannabis, I know they had a drug haul sometime during the week, and congratulations to the police.
12:12Also, Mark, we were chatting on our chat group, Missing Persons chat group, and we were saying in January we got 28 out of 31,
12:21and in February we were noticing some decrease, so we're hoping that the SOE is having an effect on persons not to leave their homes and not be accounted for as well.
12:32That's good.
12:33Alright, we're going to take a quick look now at our headlines.
12:51So those were some of the headlines within the last 24 hours.
13:05We want to take a look at a video, this happened apparently over the weekend at the Port of Spain General Hospital,
13:15involving where a contractor was allegedly robbed and security personnel on the compound was able to intercept the assailant and recover the item.
13:24And you'd see a person there in black with a weapon of some sort assaulting the employee and then, of course, escaping.
13:38Running there, and then security obviously gave chase to Captain Rambarat, and I dare say that their quick work, they were able to apprehend that suspect in quick time.
13:57So you know there were a series of incidents at the hospital prior to this incident, so it seems as if security was beefed up and as well, so they were able to respond to this situation.
14:11Congratulations to the security officer, he did his job.
14:15So you're handing back the victim, the bag that was stolen.
14:20That was stolen.
14:21Yes, so certainly some good work there, and you know you see that the SWAT van was right there when he grabbed this item.
14:28And we continue to point out this all the time, these young guys don't have a care in the world.
14:33No idea of the risks involved, he didn't see that security guard van at all.
14:40And unfortunately there were also some road traffic accidents over the weekend.
14:44One of course was a motorcyclist, I believe it was a police officer that lost their life in the Shear Corners area sometime I believe on Friday or Saturday.
14:57So you know there were a couple of accidents, I think yesterday I was heading down south around this time, I saw the vehicle lying in the ditch there just before we get off at the Shear Corners flyover there.
15:11And it seemed that some persons were injured, this gentleman here was actually assisting.
15:18And I don't know the shear intensity or speed of the vehicle, I believe it struck that.
15:25That galvanized.
15:26Metallic areas where Bagwon Singh is, and then ended up in the ditch right off the highway there on the southbound lane of the Solomon Ho Choy Highway going south.
15:38So certainly there was a lot of speed for it to impact the metal sheeting there.
15:43Mark on the way up we saw a B-13 on its hood, I can't recall where, but I feel it's somewhere on the B-10 westbound.
15:52So accidents, I think there are lots of accidents on our roads, and we have to urge drivers to be careful.
16:00The weather is kind of iffy these days with rain and sun, rain and sun.
16:04But we have to try our utmost and exercise due care and attention on our roads.
16:10Certainly, we want to encourage all drivers, especially on the weekend when there's a heavier volume of traffic with people going to events and so on, it's carnival in here.
16:20All right, we're going to take a short break and we'll be back. Stay with us.
16:27First, we need more opportunities for these youths.
16:30Better sporting facilities, job opportunities, and those kind of things.
16:35Because they have nothing back here to save these youths after school.
16:39After school they have nothing, they say they could go and do, you understand, to occupy their time, make some kind of money.
16:45So it's straight on the block, that's where they end up.
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19:07So you have big plans for the year, eh?
19:10A trip in July, birthday in November
19:13and fet after fet this carnival.
19:16But you know what is stop plans?
19:19A $22,500 fine.
19:23You know what else could really stop your plans?
19:27Five years imprisonment
19:29and suspension on your license for three years.
19:33Don't drink and drive.
19:50Welcome back to Beyond the Tape.
19:51I'm your host, Marc Besson,
19:52joined today by Captain Valence Rambarad
19:54from the Hunter Search and Rescue Team.
19:56Remember the numbers to call 623-1711,
19:59extensions 1996 and in 1997.
20:03And I know we have some business to catch up on
20:05in terms of missing persons.
20:07Yes, so we ended January, the last time I was here,
20:10we ended January with 28 reports of missing persons.
20:15And over the last week, Marc,
20:17we were able to do some excellent work
20:19using mostly our phones to get that down to four.
20:22Of the four remaining for January,
20:26there are two that we've red flagged.
20:28Red flag means there exists a strong possibility
20:34that harm may have come to these persons.
20:37So we still have outstanding for January,
20:40January 2025, Merica Harry,
20:44and there's ongoing work with the police and us
20:48on Merica Harry's case,
20:50and we've made some progress.
20:52I was briefed this morning,
20:54and this is one of the case we've red flagged,
20:57meaning that harm may have come to Merica Harry
21:01in terms of her being missing
21:04and the reason for her being missing.
21:07The other two persons, we have Kimya Bishop.
21:11She's a repeated runaway,
21:13and we know we're giving her some time to return home.
21:17We know currently where she is,
21:19and hopefully she can return home,
21:22as well as Destiny Matthews,
21:25who is a repeated runaway,
21:28and we have an idea where she is,
21:31and hopefully she can return on her own volition.
21:35And the fourth case mark is Keston Koto.
21:39We have risen to red flag this,
21:41and there's absolutely no reason for Keston Koto
21:45not to have returned home,
21:47and we feel strongly that harm has come his way,
21:52and the police is continuing their investigations
21:55into what would have happened to Keston Koto.
21:59So those were the four outstanding for January 2025,
22:05and then we have for February thus far,
22:10we have seven reports of missing persons received,
22:13and we have six outstanding.
22:15Adela Morgan from Cuva is missing,
22:20and we were informed that she was walking on the highway last Monday.
22:26So when we left here, we went in search of Adela Morgan,
22:30but we were unable to pick her up on the Uriah Butler Highway
22:34from Chavonas to San Fernando,
22:37and we continued to try to search for her.
22:40We believe she has an aging issue,
22:43maybe Alzheimer's or dementia,
22:46and we need to find her.
22:48So members of the public, if you're out there,
22:51and you happen to spot her, call 799-1453 right away.
22:56We want to get her home.
22:58Shakir Gomez is outstanding from Maloney Gardens,
23:03and we're currently working on that case.
23:05So to Jose Gregorio, he's 30 and missing from the Pinal Rock Road, Pinal,
23:12and the latest we have on Jose is that he may not be missing,
23:16but may be in hiding.
23:18Quite a few people called us.
23:20He's owing prisoners a lot of money.
23:23So we want Jose Gregorio on the way up.
23:26I got your telephone number.
23:28We asked you to call in and let us know that you're safe, all right,
23:32and then you will deal with any trials and tribulations later on.
23:36It has been reported to the police.
23:39And the next person is Bayanella Robles.
23:43This is a case we have to go to, may go to after the show.
23:48We have information on a possible location,
23:51but I can't disclose it over the air,
23:54and we will have to visit there after the show.
23:57This case of Deborah Cornwall was renting an apartment in Barataria,
24:02and she's missing since January 2024.
24:05So I spoke to her brother,
24:07and he's saying that she was renting an apartment there.
24:11She has not been in the best of health.
24:13She has an addiction to alcohol
24:16and has been on the streets for a while before this incident happened.
24:21They secured her at a rental,
24:23and she has been missing since January 2024.
24:27And then we have Abigail Doudnat.
24:30This case came up to the end already.
24:32We have an idea where she is.
24:35So again, we may head to that area in North Trinidad after the show.
24:41So hopefully we could get some of these reduced
24:46during the course of the day into tomorrow.
24:49We had an interesting case.
24:51We didn't have footage on this one, and that is Anita Maraj.
24:55Anita was reported missing,
24:57and her story is an interesting one.
25:00She said she was abducted in the Claxton Bay area,
25:05and she jumped out of a moving vehicle
25:08in the Brechton Castle, Coover,
25:11on the Rivulet Road in Coover.
25:14And unfortunately, just as she was catching herself
25:17standing up from having jumped out of the vehicle,
25:21she was bounced by another vehicle.
25:23She got hit by an oncoming vehicle.
25:25The driver did stop and got an ambulance for her,
25:29and we were able to track her down and inform her relatives
25:33that she was at the San Fernando General Hospital.
25:37Mark, a simple case like that takes a whole day to unravel
25:41from having received the report to by the time you find the person.
25:45But thankfully, she has been seriously injured.
25:49Some of them lose consciousness.
25:51They can't see who they are.
25:53But thankfully, we were able to resolve this one
25:55on behalf of the family,
25:57and they were extremely happy when I called and I said,
26:00listen, go to Ward 6, San Fernando General Hospital.
26:04Your loved one is there.
26:06She has some serious injuries.
26:08But most importantly, she's alive.
26:11Well, at least certainly that's good news.
26:13I think you have just one other person, I think, Keith Stewart.
26:16Yeah, we have Keith Stewart.
26:18That came on our radar while we were on our way up,
26:21and I thought I would highlight it.
26:23Keith Stewart, a friend reported him missing.
26:26We're still to contact the family,
26:28but what a friend is saying is that Keith Stewart
26:31was the best friend of the gentleman
26:35whose decapitated body was found in Blanchie Shears last week.
26:40And the friend feels strongly that Keith Frazer was with him,
26:48and there's a possible reason why he's missing.
26:52So we started to track Keith Frazer.
26:55He was not reported missing at the Blanchie Shears police station.
27:01We got information that his residence is in Santa Cruz.
27:04The police has no report there of a missing Keith Frazer,
27:08but the friend is trying to get the contact for the family.
27:11So we just put in persons on notice.
27:14He is missing, and if you know the whereabouts of Keith Frazer,
27:18please call us at 799-1453 or your nearest police station
27:23so that we can know he's alive and well.
27:26If not, I think we have some follow-up to do on this case.
27:30All right, certainly.
27:32All right, after this break, Voice of the People,
27:35our continuing segment. Stay with us.
27:42In a way, it stopped me from working,
27:45because you can't go everywhere to work,
27:47and the police see you, they target you.
27:50Fellas are just talking out on the block.
27:52They can't go there.
27:53All them little men and them can't go out for work
27:55because anywhere they see them, they're running them down.
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29:28The Express celebrates the memories, moments, and milestones of Carnival
29:33with Chronicles of Mass.
29:35This commemorative publication features the iconic bands,
29:39portrayals, and creators that have defined the masquerade throughout the years
29:43and cemented Trinidad and Tobago as the mecca of the festival.
29:47Relive the competitive highlights and remember the stalwarts, savants, and innovators
29:53as we journey through history in celebration of Carnival.
29:57It's Chronicles of Mass, free this weekend with your Sunday Express.
30:14Welcome back to Beyond the Tape, I'm your host Marc Besson,
30:16joined today by Captain Valence Rambarat from the Hunter's Search and Rescue Team.
30:20We're now going to take you to our segment, Voice of the People.
30:44So, how long have you been in this area?
30:47Born and grew here.
30:48About 25 to 10?
30:4928.
30:5028 years?
30:51Yeah.
30:52What was life like before crime became a concern in this area for you?
30:56Life was sweet, life was nice, everybody used to live in love.
30:59Mm-hmm.
31:05And what caused this whole situation to explode into where
31:10Northeastern Settlement is now one of those areas that they consider a hotspot in here?
31:15Poverty and corruption.
31:18Poverty with the people around the area, corruption with so many police.
31:22Mm-hmm.
31:23Yeah, tough.
31:25Well, this batch here, this is a good batch, we have no problem with this batch.
31:28But it's all the officers that's been targeting me.
31:31You understand?
31:32And you can't even go to the police station and make a report.
31:35Because when they take your report as you leave, they're writing it,
31:38scribble it up, throw it away.
31:40Somebody shoot behind me on my birthday last year, I went to the police station.
31:43Up to now, nothing happened.
31:44They come and get a pen, share everything.
31:46They take the report, they throw away the report, and lie to you and I.
31:49Yeah?
31:50So something had to be done.
31:51So we know there are corruption, there are allegations of police involvement of certain things,
31:58and there's also gang activity in this area.
32:01Gang activity, that's what they claim to say.
32:04Mm-hmm.
32:22Right, and where is that?
32:25Right.
32:26You all have no beef with those people in Jacob?
32:29Mm-hmm.
32:31So how has crime affected you, and how has that kind of changed your daily routine?
32:53And why is that?
32:55Mm-hmm.
33:00It's not doing nothing.
33:11I know you talk about protecting yourself as a prospective victim of crime.
33:17What are some of the things that you would do to try to protect yourself,
33:20and by exception, members in your community?
33:31Simple thing like that.
33:32You don't have to pick up a gun to protect yourself.
33:33You just have to stay out of the way.
33:35That's all.
33:37So you believe that the community is actively doing things to help to improve this community
33:41and become less crime-free?
33:43Yeah.
33:44We said, let's try this.
33:45I'm keeping a Christmas tree.
33:46The innocent contractor the police killed last year.
33:48This would have been the third Christmas tree if they didn't kill him last year.
33:51Mm-hmm.
33:52You understand?
33:53They ain't talking about that either.
33:54Nothing ain't come out of that yet, too.
33:56So you think, in terms of the effectiveness of the law enforcement in this area here,
34:02what do you think is needed to do better, or more of,
34:06to stymie the shootings and the killings in this area here?
34:10Well, more patrols, one.
34:12Mm-hmm.
34:13And when it is your patrolling, you have to patrol the whole area.
34:16You can't target one zone and leave the next zone.
34:19You understand?
34:20Because if you're targeting the right troops,
34:23and them getting to do where they work, they're looking by us.
34:26Because we know we are nothing.
34:28Plenty of them officers, they could tell you.
34:30All this, all them, let them eat, man, let them just work.
34:32Who care work?
34:33They will look for a little garden work because they know they can't go home.
34:36You understand?
34:37It's nothing for you.
34:38As somebody living in this community for 28 years,
34:41what would be some of your suggestions, not just to the police,
34:44but to the community in how to improve the safety and security of this area?
34:50Well, first, in the beginning, you need more opportunity for this.
34:53Better sporting facilities, job opportunities, and them kind of thing.
34:58Because it have nothing in the back here to save these youths after school.
35:02After school, it have nothing.
35:03They say they could go and do, you understand, to occupy the time,
35:06make some kind of money.
35:08So it's straight on the block.
35:09That's where it ends up.
35:11Do you think that, so you would like to see that change and that turnaround
35:16so that these youths can get the opportunity to work and to earn an honest dollar?
35:22Yeah.
35:24That is all we need in the back here.
35:26A lot of job opportunities, a lot of sporting facilities.
35:29You understand?
35:30It have nothing for youths in the back here.
35:31Nothing.
35:32All the politicians just go and say they're putting this in place,
35:34they're putting that in place.
35:35Nothing.
35:36Nothing, nothing, nothing.
35:37Look how long this facility they supposed to open.
35:39You understand?
35:40We can't use the recreation, the closed down for construction.
35:44Nobody in the back here work in the night.
35:46The football ground just around the corner there.
35:48Yeah.
35:49You understand?
35:50Nobody from in the back here work in there.
35:51So how are they supposed to see all the better in the community
35:53when all they're bringing outside just to do the jobs?
35:55Me ain't saying pick up any and anybody, you know,
35:57but it have people capable of doing the work in the back here.
35:59If they pass on and they find out, I'm sure they could get a job,
36:02a whole job site from in the back here.
36:04What would be one positive message as a young man in this community
36:07you want to give, not just to this community that are at risk of crime,
36:12but to all the other communities across Trinidad and Tobago?
36:15What would be your advice to these young men who find themselves
36:19on the other side of the law, involved in the wrongdoing?
36:23You can't really give them no advice because you can't talk to them.
36:27You understand?
36:28But the most I can tell them is try and look for a better life
36:31because this life of crime ain't making no sense.
36:33It's either they're dead or in jail.
36:35Family mourning don't make no sense.
36:38Do you believe that maybe stiffer penalties for certain offences
36:43might deter people going down that road of life of crime?
36:48Yeah, it's a possibility.
36:50But this whole crime situation is a money-making business to the government.
36:55So we go watch the times.
36:57It's crime and it's this and it's that, but to them it's a business.
37:01You get arrested with a firearm.
37:03Don't you have a bail to pay?
37:05I give you a bail and you go back out on the street.
37:07You could get arrested with an ex-firearm, a kill or a cocaine.
37:10There's an ex-bail money you have to pay.
37:12You understand?
37:14We can't do nothing for that. It's the government that fix that.
37:20The Voice of the People
37:26The Voice of the People, northeastern settlement in Sangha Gandhi there,
37:32hearing from a young man in that area there,
37:34obviously he talked about the lack of opportunity in these areas
37:39where crime has become a concern not just for the community
37:44but for the country as a whole.
37:46Yeah, but Mark, it was an interesting interview. I enjoyed it.
37:50I'm glad that you sat down with the young man.
37:52What was interesting was that he said he was shot at some time ago.
37:56But in terms of opportunities, Mark, people have choices to make.
38:04And over the weekend I was just looking on social media
38:08and somebody said they wanted to raise some money for a young guy
38:11to do a plumbing course.
38:14In the comment section they posted every single free plumbing course
38:18available by the government.
38:20So there are opportunities out there,
38:22but these guys find themselves in a conundrum.
38:26In the years gone by, drugs were peddled without guns and violence.
38:32It was done quietly in the communities and those communities were safe.
38:38But today there is drugs, and following the drugs is violence and guns
38:45to protect staff and a whole set of other issues.
38:49So if the guys want opportunities, they have to make a choice,
38:54and that choice is to let me go and get some skills.
38:57I see the other young man listening intently,
39:00that if he could only go and get a skill,
39:03that skill could be utilized in the said community to gain income.
39:08Not fast money, but nice decent pay for your work,
39:13and you can save your money and you can progress
39:16like every other rich person has done in Trinidad and Tobago.
39:20To get rich you have to start small and you have to work hard.
39:23Those are the two ingredients, and that is what they need.
39:27But it's a conundrum because they don't know where to turn.
39:31I don't know if you listened to his argument about bail.
39:35Bail really doesn't bring revenue to the government.
39:39It's really a terms and condition of your release, more like a bond,
39:43and it goes back to the person when the matter is resolved.
39:49But Mark, northeastern settlement, I was in Jacob Coates' settlement
39:55and Duranta Gardens and those communities up in northeast Trinidad.
39:59Quite some hotspot areas.
40:02Yes, let me just say that anyway he pointed to Jacob Circular,
40:06and of course we did visit that area and we'll also hear from those persons
40:10in another segment of Voice of the People later on this week.
40:14All right, we're going to take a break and we'll be back. Stay with us.
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43:09A message from the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service.
43:23Welcome back to Beyond the Tape. I'm your host Marc Bessin.
43:26Joined today by Captain Valence Rambarat from the Hunter's Search and Rescue Team.
43:30And I do believe that during the weekend you all would have assisted a motorist in the San Fernando area.
43:36Yeah, just opposite C3 there. He ran off the road.
43:40But it's an interesting story. All our things have interesting stories.
43:44Right.
43:45So he was driving under the influence, obviously, and he ran off the road.
43:49He was a pretty elderly gentleman.
43:52So what was done was to try to get him out of the car.
43:56Establish that he wasn't injured or anything like that.
44:00So there was no need to call the police so that the gentleman could have not been charged for driving under the influence.
44:07And we were able to contact his family.
44:10And they arrived and they were able to get the car out and take him home safely.
44:16Now, in a case like this, we do this on a daily basis.
44:19We have our uniforms and our vehicles.
44:22And whenever we see accidents like these, we stop and assist.
44:29And these are just two of our members, Hulk and Rhea, doing their duty to assist a motorist who ran off the road.
44:40And I think kudos to them.
44:42If you listen to the video, they handled it professionally.
44:45You know, detailing every bit of safety involved in how to get the gentleman off the car, out of the vehicle.
44:55So well done to them. I think they performed excellently.
44:59And we do this all the time.
45:01I am on the road and I stop when I see vehicles stationary, stalled vehicles.
45:06We all do it.
45:07And we try to assist persons who need help.
45:10Thankfully, the gentleman is rather safe.
45:13And of course, please do not drink and drive.
45:15Of course, do not.
45:17I mean, we felt sorry for the gentleman.
45:19At the end, somebody would have called the police and he would have been charged.
45:24So we circumvented all of that.
45:26Got the family involved and so it had a happy ending.
45:30He got off the hook.
45:31Thank God for that.
45:33All right.
45:34I know we had brought you some footage a couple of days ago last week involving a vehicle that was stolen in the East Grove housing area in Curep.
45:46And of course, this situation, the vehicle belongs to a prison officer.
45:55And it is a silver Tida.
45:58And the assailants took the vehicle after a while.
46:03They were captured here.
46:05Now, interestingly enough, this is supposed to aid the police and of course alert residents in the area about people who are coming around looking at vehicles.
46:18Whereas now the victims of this stuff are now being pressured by a number of the community residents saying you have put us at risk.
46:27But at what risk?
46:28They are trying to highlight a problem so that the police and by extension, the residents will be come away.
46:35Come away, yeah.
46:36And we always advocate that residents get CCTV footage.
46:41And the reason for that is bringing it to the attention of the residents that listen.
46:47Something is going down in the area.
46:49It doesn't have to be who live in and what house.
46:52But the entire community is knowledgeable of what is transpiring.
46:58Yes.
46:59And so they have decided to offer a reward for anybody who knows where this vehicle is.
47:05Because apparently the prison officer's wallet and a baton was also in that vehicle.
47:10And please, residents, you all know this is for the safety of yours and security of your area as well.
47:17And not trying to pinpoint the victim and saying you're putting us at risk because that is entirely not true in this instance.
47:24Most likely the perpetrators would not have known that the vehicle belongs to a prison officer.
47:30Exactly.
47:31Or they would have left it alone.
47:33Yep.
47:34All right.
47:35So we saw an interesting video with two gentlemen in a mall sometime in the last day or two.
47:46Perhaps we think they pay a bill.
47:49Let's take a look.
47:52So it seems to have some kind of confrontation there.
47:55And, of course, both started to exchange blows.
48:06So they both end up in the crowd in the mall.
48:12You know, tantamount to what you see in UFC.
48:14Yeah.
48:16You know, involved in a fight.
48:18Yes.
48:19And that escalated pretty quickly because in a few seconds they were on the ground.
48:24I'm seeing the security personnel moving in there very, very quickly, trying to part the two assailants,
48:33the two parties involved in this fraca here.
48:39Then the other security comes and also detains the other guy.
48:44The other one, yeah.
48:45The other way.
48:46But something, Mark, about this, it doesn't affect my sensibilities.
48:50You have two adults settling scores with a fistfight.
48:53I could accept that because that's how it was done long ago.
48:57And that was the way people, if they got a little bit agitated or aggravated in terms of their anger,
49:04they would settle their scores and finish with it.
49:06Yes.
49:07Right?
49:08So you see they coolly were parted and I could live with something like that.
49:13One fight leads to another, right?
49:15So we also got a video involving some maxi-taxi drivers, both squaring up, I believe in the Arima area.
49:27And this is what happens.
49:30You know, they're first conversating.
49:33Yeah.
49:34And, you know, in each other's face.
49:37And then things got a little hectic here.
49:43So.
49:44And I'm sure, Mark, that they are two colleagues.
49:47They know each other.
49:49Know each other.
49:50Something aggravated one of them and again they settled it with a fistfight.
49:54I hope it ended well and there's nothing to continue or follow up after.
49:59But those are two colleagues.
50:01Men will always be men.
50:03But this is how scores were settled if, you know, you had a rise in anger.
50:09And we could live with these types but we can't live with the violent.
50:15Well, at the end they are parted and of course.
50:18By friends.
50:19There's a lesson to learn here, of course.
50:21I mean, so much rage, you know, road rage out there.
50:25Yes.
50:26And also in public spaces and, of course, you know, speaking, having a conversation.
50:31Especially.
50:32I know it's not always easy.
50:34Yeah, especially if you have the responsibility for transportation, transporting persons.
50:41Yes.
50:42And you're earning income from public transportation.
50:46Your temperament should always be much better than what we just saw.
50:50Certainly.
50:51All right, we're going to take a short break and we'll be back.
50:53Stay with us.
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53:33Welcome back to Beyond the Tape.
53:34I'm your host, Mark Bassan, joined today by Captain Valence Rambarat from the Hunter Search and Rescue Team.
53:40We just have a couple of minutes left, Captain, of course.
53:42I don't know how your weekend was, but is there anything you would like to educate the public on?
53:47Well, Mark, we celebrated our fourth anniversary and on Tuesday we visited the relatives of Andrea Barrett in Kumak.
53:59They had a memoriam and we participated in the memoriam.
54:04This is Aunt Wendy Williams lighting the symbolic torch.
54:09It was just a few of us gathered.
54:11Wendy was really the surrogate mother of Andrea after Andrea's mother died.
54:18And that is Geraldine lighting the symbolic candle.
54:22That is her cousin, the person who she was closest to.
54:25And we ventured there to really celebrate with this family because it was this occasion that gave birth to Hunter's Search and Rescue Team.
54:37And it was always a pleasure to be there.
54:40We were unable to meet her father, Randolph Barrett.
54:43And her grandmother, Ina Williams, they carry on the tradition every year.
54:51They've built a monument in that beautiful village of Kumak.
54:55And it was really a spiritual awakening again and rebirth for the team to be there and to share this moment with the family.
55:08So this is something we will do every year with the family.
55:14And as you can see, members are there.
55:17And that's a beautiful grandmother house in the back there.
55:20And the aunt's house is on this side.
55:22And it was a lot of tears.
55:24But we did share a lot of interesting stories about Andrea Barrett, her growing up days, how she went to university.
55:32She had moved back with her dad when she started to work in the Aremba district.
55:38And unfortunately, that is where the incident occurred, which led to her demise.
55:43But Mark, I also want to point out to viewers that within the last two months, we've had three persons involved in road traffic accidents as pedestrians.
55:55We had to really fight to locate them.
56:00Ricky George was one.
56:03Mark Tooney was the other one.
56:05And then we had, we didn't have to stay long to locate Anita Mirage.
56:10But they have to pay attention to road traffic accidents when your loved ones go missing.
56:18Because we're seeing an increase in pedestrian-involved road traffic accidents.
56:23And additionally, I want to point out, I did point it out earlier, that we feel that there is some bit of slowing down involved with respect to missing persons.
56:34And we seem to want to relate that to the SOE.
56:38That's something that's happening that we welcome.
56:42Because we don't want to continuously be searching for missing persons.
56:47What we want to do is see a reduction in the number of missing persons.
56:51So that, you know, we'll have less families being in agony over their missing loved ones.
57:02So it's good advice.
57:04And always, Mark, if your loved ones go missing, make sure that you check around first.
57:11Report it to the police.
57:13And call Hunter's Search and Rescue Team at 799-1453.
57:18You will always find a willing heir on the other side of the telephone.
57:23And we do genuinely try to assist persons who go missing.
57:28All right. Thanks for that, Captain Ambrat.
57:31Obviously, you know, it's been four years already.
57:34And I didn't realize at the time it went so quickly.
57:37And speaking about time going so quickly, remember we run tonight at 11.30.
57:43Another repeat at 11 o'clock tomorrow.
57:45The TV6 News is up next. Stay with us.
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