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  • 5 hours ago
Gary Griffith says he had no knowledge of any plan to assassinate senior state prosecutor Dana Seetahal.

Griffith, a former police commissioner and national security minister,.. made the comments.. following statements by Defence Minister Sturge.., who suggested there had been intercepted communications.. related to the assassination plot. Here's Alicia Boucher with more.
Transcript
00:00Former National Security Minister Gary Griffith has taken note of the statements made by Defence Minister Wayne Sturge.
00:06On Friday, Sturge placed on the handsad that Dana Sita-Hal knew that she would be killed
00:12and that there was the interception of calls related to the hit on her life.
00:16But Griffith urges caution.
00:18We have to be very careful as to what we say because these matters are still under investigation.
00:23Persons have been charged for this offence, so we have to be very careful what is being said.
00:27Given that Sturge aimed his comment at the People's National Movement in error,
00:32accusing them of not doing anything about it, TV6 News posed the question to Griffith
00:37as to whether he had that information as he was in government at the time.
00:42At no time during the period under the People's Partnership Administration when Dana Sita-Hal was killed
00:48that no such information came to the National Security Council
00:52that was brought to the attention of the Prime Minister as the Chair of the National Security Council,
00:57myself as the Minister of National Security or the National Security Council.
01:01And he is seeking to add further clarity pertaining to the alleged interception on Sita-Hal's assassination.
01:07That at no time we received any information from law enforcement agencies
01:13that an intercept had taken place on criminal elements who had planned to assassinate Dana Sita-Hal.
01:17And definitely at no time did we reject providing security for Dana Sita-Hal at that time.
01:24He believes that a proper plea bargaining system could be used for breakthroughs in cases such as that of Sita
01:30-Hal.
01:30You would have known that a number of persons were charged,
01:33but charging the small fish who would have been individuals who would have operated the trigger
01:37and committed the act, that is not good enough.
01:40What I wanted as the Minister of National Security was to go after the person who called the hit.
01:46And that is where plea bargaining would come in.
01:48That again is a decision that has to be made by the DPP and the police service,
01:53not the Minister of National Security.
01:55Griffiths says without a fully functional plea bargaining system,
01:58those heading these crimes will continue to walk free.
02:01Alicia Boucher, TV6 News.
02:04Thank you for listening.
02:07You
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