Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar says the alleged plot to assassinate her and senior members of her government has widened significantly and now involves multiple foreign agencies.
‘I would not have any specific details on the ongoing local and foreign investigations. As Minister Roger Alexander stated in his press release, the investigation has widened beyond the original scope to new areas and across multiple jurisdictions,’ Prime Minister Persad-Bissessar told the Trinidad Guardian newspaper, adding that she cannot comment on the specifics of the ongoing investigation. ‘I am advised that multiple foreign intelligence and investigative agencies are involved and that new persons, financial institutions and businesses have been identified in the expanding investigation. I am also advised by local and foreign authorities that these investigations have increased in complexity and will take some time,’ she added.
Last week, Alexander, the Homeland Security Minister revoked the Preventive Detention Orders (PDOs) issued against prominent businessman Dominic Hadeed and his wife Genevieve, leading to their release while investigations into the conspiracy to murder allegations against them continue.
The Hadeeds were arrested on June 24 as part of a Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) investigation into the alleged plot to assassinate Persad-Bissessar and Attorney General, John Jeremie.
In revoking the PDO’s, Alexander said their continued detention was no longer proportionate after considering legal, medical and constitutional issues, as well as a recommendation from the Constitution Review Tribunal. The Hadeeds were not charged with any offence.
On Monday, High Court Judge, Vigel Paul, Monday ordered the release of 69-year-old Star Sabga, a relative of Genevieve Hadeed, after a month in prison and placed her under house arrest.
The judge had earlier ruled that Sabga should be released from prison pending the hearing of her constitutional challenge to the PDO. He also found that Sabga had raised a serious issue to be tried and that the balance of convenience favoured granting interim relief.
Under the interim order, Sabga must remain confined to her residence under police supervision. She is required to surrender her passport and electronic devices, cannot leave her home except in the event of a medical emergency, and is prohibited from communicating with persons outside the residence except for her attorneys, medical personnel and approved family members.
Police officers are also permitted to enter the premises at reasonable times to ensure compliance with the order.
Alexander had previously maintained that despite revoking the PDOs, the criminal investigation remains active and that investigators had informed him that the probe now spans multiple jurisdictions and requires cooperation between local and international law enforcement agencies.
Alexander, a former senior police officer, said the Hadeeds will remain under monitoring and surveillance while investigators continue their work and that measures have been put in place to protect anyone who may still be at risk.
Meanwhile, Jeremie has said that a leaked audio recording purported to be of Sabga and Genevieve Hadeed may not have stemmed from a local lawful intercept and that modern technology allows external actors to intercept communications.
The leaked recording allegedly contains comments described as a threat against Prime Minister Persad-Bissessar. However, Sabga has not been charged with any offence arising from the audio.
‘Please remember that given modern technology, it is possible for external actors to also conduct interceptions,’ said Jeremie, who has expressed confidence in both Alexander and the TTPS despite criticism over the government’s handling of the high-profile Hadeed matter.
‘The question of charging is different from a decision to ensure the public good and I support the efforts of the police and the agencies in that matter and the work of my colleague in Homeland Security,’ Jeremie said.
On Monday, Police Commissioner Allister Guevarro said he had ‘ordered an immediate investigation’ into the circulation on social media of the audio recording and its contents that were first published by the Sunshine Newspaper owned by former government minister Jack Warner over the last weekend and since then there have been calls for an independent inquiry into the matter.
Former police commissioner Gary Griffith called for an immediate independent investigation into the matter saying the apparent breach of the Strategic Services Agency’s (SSA) intelligence systems is a greater national security concern than the contents of the recording itself.
In a statement, Guevarro said that the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) ‘acknowledges the circulation on social media, of an audio recording which is alleged to be intercepted communication,’ reminding that under the Interception of Communications Act, communications may only be lawfully intercepted pursuant to the legislation.
He said that the public is further reminded that ‘the Act expressly forbids the unauthorised disclosure of intercepted communications’ and that it provides that ‘a person who discloses the existence of a warrant or an application for a warrant… commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine of fifty thousand dollars (One TT dollar=US$0.16 cents)and to imprisonment for three years.’
Guevarro said said the investigation will also determine whether any person unlawfully disclosed protected information and whether any breach of operational security, data handling protocols, or statutory obligations has occurred.
‘No further comment will be made while the investigation is active, however updates will be provided only when it is appropriate to do so in the interest of national security,’ Guevarro added.
The main opposition People’s National Movement (PNM) has called for Alexander resignation over his handling of the Hadeeds’ detention and the eventual revocation of the PDOs.
PNM chairman Marvin Gonzales in a statement posted on Facebook, welcomed the TTPS decision to investigate the leak but said the probe must be comprehensive and independent.
‘I wish to commend the Commissioner of Police for finally breaking his silence on the recent illegal release of intercepted audio communication,’ Gonzales wrote, cautioning that investigators should not allow political influence to interfere with their work.
‘I also wish to take the opportunity to publicly advise the Commissioner again, that he must take extra careful precaution so as not to allow his office to be manipulated and used by dangerous and deceitful politicians,’ he said, urging that investigators should be prepared to examine the actions of senior public officials.