- 7 weeks ago
The government credited the US radar with a major marijuana bust
An elderly couple was kidnapped for a hefty ransom
and the government defended a new programme for the upkeep of public spaces
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NewsTranscript
00:00and welcome back the families of Derek Tadier and his wife Clarabelle are praying for their
00:09safe release after the couple was kidnapped from their home on Monos Island last Saturday
00:14night a hefty ransom was demanded for their release with a gun pointed to his head by
00:31his kidnappers and one holding a hand grenade Derek Tadier makes a chilling peter's brother to
00:36pay the dineros for the safe release of his wife and himself hours after they were taken
00:42investigators here shortly before 10 o'clock on Saturday night Derek Tadier and his wife
00:47Clarabelle was at their homes just behind the brush here in Monos Island when armed
00:52assailants entered their home ransacked the house later kidnapping both of them and then sending
00:58a voice note demanding a 2.5 million dollar US ransom according to investigators Tadier who
01:04owns a farm and a boatyard in Chagramas along with his wife were taken around 10 p.m on Saturday
01:10night hours later a relative told police he obtained a voice note from an unidentified
01:14number with a foreign area code of 573 purportedly from the USA with Tadier's voice stating they have
01:21met and won 2.5 million dollars US from a release close quote these two homes seen here are rental
01:28properties owned by Tadier but sources close to the investigation told TV6 news that Tadier and his
01:33wife were kidnapped further up the hill in another house the kidnappers then bundle the couple into a
01:39waiting boat and escaped on the waters into the darkness TV6 news spoke to someone close to the
01:45family on the island who spoke on the condition of anonymity stating that the family was handling the
01:50matter with the assistance of the police another relative speaking to us on the condition of an
01:55anonymity said that a lower payment perhaps within the range of half a million dollars was also being
02:00negotiated when TV6 news returned to power boats in Chagramas officers of a specialized coastal and
02:05surveillance units speaking on the condition of anonymity and asked we keep the identities hidden
02:11confirmed they were heading to the home on Manos Island to search for further clues senior sources told
02:16TV6 news Tadier employed several Spanish speaking nationals and believe someone with connections to
02:22the underworld in Venezuela may have been responsible for this kidnapping they've also not ruled out the
02:27possibility of it being an inside job and several persons are expected to be interviewed over the
02:32coming days as part of the investigation Mark Passant TV6 news but Prime Minister Kamala Passant
02:39possess a voiced concern over the kidnapping in particular the US 2.5 million dollar ransom demand
02:48I don't have the date in front me to say if there's an absurd or not but every kidnapping is cause for concern
02:54this is why we have engaged all international partners meaning the United States assist us with what's happening at our borders
03:02borders um they could not be some of them I mean this is the one on Monas Island appears to be very I don't want to
03:09pronounce because the matter will be before the police and the courts with it's a bit fishy for someone to ask for 2.5
03:16million US dollars so I guess more investigations will give us more answers this is the past seven days on six we'll be right back
03:32thanks for staying with us the minister of rural development and local government pushed back
03:39against social media speculation over a leaked cabinet document minister mean said the proposed
03:46national maintenance program is misunderstood and stressed that it is not a replacement for CPEP but
03:53rather is designed to bring greater accountability minister of rural development and local government
03:59minister mean says the new program differs significantly from CPEP explaining that workers will be
04:29hired directly through the ministry she says this model removes the risk of ghost gangs and strengthens
04:35attendance monitoring performance checks and financial accountability difference with this program
04:42is that it cuts out the middleman you are not having contractors getting big amount of money you're not
04:49financing gang activity you are cutting out the middleman and giving livable wages to the person who is doing
04:58the actual worker this draft note was leaked I understand and whoever was circulating it with a claim
05:09that it was a replacement CPEP so it is not that I mean says teams will be deployed to municipal corporations
05:17to focus on maintaining recreation grounds cemeteries public spaces and community facilities the minister
05:24notes the initiative is still in its pilot phase with consultations continuing among unions corporations
05:31and other stakeholders meanwhile from the opposition quarters port of spain south mp keith scotland says job
05:37creation must preserve dignity and ensure fairness warning that people on the ground are suffering it's a serious
05:46concern concern what transpired and i repeat what transpired with cpep is a travesty of justice forget
05:56the contractors what about the actual workers who did the job how would they sent home they are the government
06:03cannot be saying that they were gangster they were workers now this new program anything to bring work to the ground
06:12i encourage it i will be a part of it whatever it is but it will not be a program that will dehumanize
06:20my people meantime public utilities minister barry padarath hit back at criticism from port of spain north
06:27st dance west mp stuart young over christmas events hosted at the office of the prime minister
06:34and the ministry of public utilities and the ministry of public utilities in a facebook post of public
06:39utilities minister barry padarath described the comments made by mp stuart young as shameless accusing
06:46him of being disrespectful to public servants padarath was responding to criticism over christmas appreciation
06:53events hosted at the office of the prime minister and the ministry of public utilities with concerns raised
07:00about spending and the use of state resources according to the minister the performers at
07:06both events were artists already contracted as brand ambassadors under tstt through arrangements made by
07:13the pnm he says no funds from either the opm or the ministry of public utilities were paid to the artists
07:20adding that they agreed to perform based on their existing contractual obligations
07:26a claim padarath says was confirmed by the ceo of tstt the minister also noted that cabinet members
07:33personally contributed towards hosting the events all we sought to do was utilize the resources that
07:40we already have in ministries and state enterprises and therefore no money was paid to any artist to
07:48perform at the office of the prime minister or the ministry of public utilities at their event
07:52instead what we sought to do was to ask them see that they were already brand ambassadors for tstt and
07:59they graciously agreed and i want you to know that i'm very very grateful artists for those free
08:06performances but i'm also apologizing on the behalf of the member for port of spain note for bringing you
08:14into disrepute in this most disgusting and vile way because these artists were not hired at tstt as brand
08:21ambassadors by myself they were hired under people's national movement administration
08:28and they have been there for a number of years all we simply asked was whether or not they would
08:33perform for us without cost and they agreed to graciously do so i thank them once more and i
08:40apologize to them on behalf of the member for port of spain north mr stewart young he further accused
08:47mp young of politicizing the issue the minister defended the government's actions seeing the
08:53events were intended to show appreciation to public servants and reflect a leadership style that values
08:59the contribution of state employees charlotte kisto tv6 news sports is up next keep it here
09:07in sport west indies head coach darren sammy expressed disappointment over the latest when these defeat
09:20against new zealand he lamented that it appears they're taking one step forward and two steps back
09:28every time we try to take a step forward we take about two backwards and it takes me back to 2013
09:34where we drew the test series in in dunedin came here lost inside free inside three days you know it's
09:40just the consistency that we're looking for you know we keep getting ourselves in good positions but little
09:45moments that switch the momentum of the game and in that test match once we lost the momentum we lost it
09:54for a long period of time so pretty disappointing but credit to to new zealand he added that the bowlers have
10:01been doing their job but said he wants the batsmen to step up the bowlers are doing they are doing the job you
10:10know we've bowled out new zealand a couple times um um and then yeah it's it's not the bowlers fault i
10:17think it's it's the batsmen that have to take more responsibility and you've seen in the first test when we take
10:22responsibility and two or one or two people put their hands up and and dig deep we look like a different side
10:29and before we go a rare show of unity in the upper house or the summary offenses amendment bill which
10:36proposes changes to fireworks legislation passed with full support of government opposition and
10:42independent senators last week in what is being called a tripartisan approach the senate approved the
10:50fireworks amendment bill today the attorney general john jeremy piloted the legislation in the senate
10:57the government is not against fireworks as a whole
11:04but we recognize that the use of fireworks can be harmful to the well-being of families
11:16and the persons particularly younger persons older persons and those with health conditions
11:25he noted the amendments proposed by the opposition were accepted in the lower house yesterday all in
11:32all it was a rare day of bipartisan legislative effort in the other place all of the members in the other
11:45place on both sides of the house agreed without dissent to pass the legislation opposition
11:55senator foster cummings was a sole contributor from his bench voicing support for the bill while
12:02cautioning about the challenges of using video evidence to issue fixed penalty notices while the
12:08bill does take into account the question of video recordings and so forth
12:17it is not possible it is not going to be easy to achieve that objective and more so in
12:32an era where it is so easy to manipulate video recordings using ai from the independent bench senator anthony
12:46viro lent his full backing the right to celebrate must not override the right to health
12:53the right to sleep the right to be safe for those who say that fireworks are like fleeting dreams
13:02bursting with color and light leaving behind a trail of smoke and wonder i say love is the only
13:09firework that never fades the fourth and final contributor to the bill also came from the independence
13:15senator francis lewis who withdrew amendments he proposed saying he understands the legislation to be
13:22a work in progress and express the hope that legislators can in short order have a relook at the law
13:30he proposed the areas where fireworks are prohibited to be expanded it's not just the hospitals
13:37my mother is 93 she's in an old folks home and and that is not unique to me that that's consistent
13:45with many of our members that should be a sanctuary for our people and if they are suffering from
13:52deformities alzheimer's etc this thing really drives people crazy
13:58um i don't know i did not see in the bill um um leading government business if it could communicate
14:08to the ag surely there must be a restriction around discharge of fireworks near police stations all 73 of
14:14them near prisons he would also like to see guidelines visible and published clearly for users i wonder whether
14:22there ought not to be also similarly prominent signs almost billboard size that says this is the law and
14:29if you break it here are the penalties and on every sales receipt if when you buy it and you get the item
14:39you need to be alerted that the law allows its use but within some very restricted terms so those are
14:47some of the things that i would like to to consider but maybe today is not the time to consider it
14:55when the division was called the bill was passed unanimously with all 30 senators from government
15:01opposition and the independent benches voting in favor and that's a wrap on the past seven days on six
15:10i am ranessa cutting if you didn't catch this segment in its entirety you can find it on our website www.tv6tnt.com
15:20and you can find all these stories and more on the tv6 mobile app thanks for choosing tv6 and you do have a great evening
15:40good evening and welcome to the past seven days on six i am ranessa cutting has what made the news this
16:07past week the government credited the u.s radar with a major marijuana bust an elderly couple was
16:14kidnapped for a hefty ransom and the government defended a new program for the upkeep of public
16:20spaces as per usual if it was happening it was on six let's get right into it some 2.2 tons of
16:29marijuana was seized by police in the space of 24 hours last week in making the announcement the police
16:36commissioner said the total estimated street value of the sea's narcotics is just over 200 million
16:43dollars and police said the radar played a key role in one of the busts so in a 24-hour period
16:52the ttps took two tons 2.2 tons of marijuana off the streets that would have been flooding
17:00and creating havoc and fueling crime police commissioner alastair govaro's declaration
17:06during the opening ceremony of the brown laura promenade police post in port of spain on friday
17:11morning following the ttps's seizure in the carony swamp on thursday of 1560 kilograms of creepy marijuana
17:20estimated at 171.2 million dollars and another discovery in point 14. and yesterday evening
17:29whilst in office around six o'clock information again came to my knowledge and i went to a place
17:39called south central road mr alexander i think you from down on that side
17:42i from south i never went in that bush i felt a place i could go and hunt we recovered a further
17:53600 and something kilograms of marijuana again the ttps data said that seizure in point 14 was estimated
18:01at 56 million dollars the police had said the new u.s military radar system in tobago was instrumental in
18:08thursday's marijuana seizure tv6 news sought clarification on friday could you say if that
18:14radar system also played a role in the second fine you spoke about so most definitely technology
18:20played a major role however i recognize this morning that persons are saying that put out too much
18:27information in the public so i'm saying the public has been calling for information and we must balance
18:34the need to give the public information as well as you need to keep particular bits of information
18:39that are sensitive to national security to national security we also spoke with homeland security minister
18:46roger alexander in terms of the data that the radar is gathering uh if you can uh at least give some
18:53sense to the public uh how is that data is it being shared from the u.s uh to the police the defense force or
19:00how is it working yeah some things that we need to keep close to our chest for national security
19:07purposes so i want to leave that right there yeah um someday eventually we'll be able to answer probably
19:13not this year sometime going forward as for criticisms online that no arrests were made with the marijuana
19:19fines the police commissioner said about the first one that the suspects upon hearing the boat
19:26but the police on board would not have returned for the weed when you enter south central road the
19:32first thing you see men on the phones so why would i leave my officers to do surveillance in the bush for
19:38two and three nights to get mosquito bite and dengue when the simplest thing will be to just take the
19:44marijuana and remove it and later destroy it later on friday the top cops said the total estimated street
19:50value of the marijuana seized by the ttps within the 24-hour period was 227 million dollars jule brown tv6 news
20:03while the prime minister labeled the marijuana bust a significant blow to criminal networks
20:08she highlighted the role of the new radar installed by the u.s military in tobago and also confirmed that
20:14she met with u.s embassy officials after the exercise prime minister come up as a professor said on
20:20her social media pages on friday that she met with officials from the u.s embassy in port of spain on
20:26thursday and that they discussed their continued cooperation in the fight against crime this follows
20:31the prime minister's announcement during the presentation of awards for outstanding performances
20:36in the 2025 may june cxc examinations which was held at the government campus plaza in port of spain
20:44on thursday night today i met with some officials from the u.s embassy this evening before i came
20:49that's not in my script but i can share it um using the radar that we installed in tobago
20:56we were able today to drug bust 171 point million dollars worth of illegal drugs internet and tobago
21:05i shared that review so that's not the way the drug running and the gun running and narcotics and so
21:14on the key the passport is education a reference to the radar system recently installed by the u.s
21:24military at the anr robinson international airport in tobago on thursday the police service had announced
21:30that the radar installed by the u.s was essential in its seizure in the carony swamp of one thousand
21:37five hundred and sixty kilograms of creepy marijuana estimated at 171.2 million dollars
21:45prime minister posad besessa said on our social media pages on friday that this was a significant
21:50blow to criminal networks the police commissioner announced on friday that he led another exercise
21:56in point 14 that resulted in an additional seizure of an estimated 56 million dollars worth of illegal
22:04cannabis at the cxc awards ceremony on thursday night prime minister passad besessa had a message
22:10for the nation's school children and students in particular for many of us for my generation and in
22:17the years the only way to lift yourselves up to prepare the world of work and to have a successful
22:24process for life is not through the narcotics and the drug running and the gun running now the prime
22:30minister said education is the only passport out of poverty jewel brown tv6 news don't touch a button we'll have
22:40more news when we return
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