The Commissioner of Police Gary Griffith met with several persons of interest last night telling them that the TTPS will respond quickly if there are any attempts to escalate gang-related criminal activity in the country.
The following is a press release from the TTPS:
Commissioner of Police, Gary Griffith, met last night with several well-known “persons of interest”, advising them that the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) will respond quickly if there are any attempts to escalate gang-related criminal activity in the country. This follows numerous WhatsApp messages purporting to such activities, which circulated yesterday and which caused fear and panic among the population.
Immediately upon receipt of this information, DCP (Ag.), ‘Operations’, Joanne Archie, held a coordinating meeting with various specialised and intelligence units, including GEB, SIU, MOB and IATF, POS CID, all First Division officers of POSD, the Traffic and Highway Patrol Branch and the POS Taskforce.
Following this meeting, several persons of interest were brought into the Besson Street and St. Joseph Police Stations. Commissioner Griffith visited both police stations, where he issued a stern warning to persons of interest that were being held there, making it clear to them that the “TTPS will not tolerate any plans among groups to cause any mayhem and destruction.” The CoP said he received hundreds of messages from concerned members of the public about the veracity of the messages.
The CoP made it quite clear, that if the messages circulating had any truth, the TTPS will move swiftly to take down any attempts to escalate any gang-related criminal activity that brings inconvenience to the public. Commissioner Griffith reminded the “persons of interest” of the attempts made at the end of June 2020, which were met with immediate resistance by the TTPS.
As a result of the messages which were circulating yesterday, the CoP said the TTPS has put certain measures in place should any attempts be made to escalate gang-related criminal activity. The Commissioner of Police wishes to advise the public to be wary of misinformation that is being circulated on social media. There is no intelligence to verify these alleged threats.
