Police are now considering disciplinary action and possible criminal charges for officers responsible for the leaking of a confidential internal memo from the Special Branch.
This was revealed by Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Glenn Hackett yesterday as he confirmed that the internal investigation into the leak had been completed. “I have received the report and have handed it over to the Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) in the Professional Standards Bureau to decide what action can be taken,” Hackett said in a telephone interview with the T&T Guardian.
He could not say how long the ACP would take to complete the task but said an official announcement would be made when he did. Acting Police Commissioner Stephen Williams ordered the investigation in late last month after the memo, which had called for officers of the department to investigate a rumour of a death threat against Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar was released to the public and broadcast widely on social media.
The Special Branch correspondence, dated July 28, claimed that members of the Jamaat-al-Muslimeen were transporting guns throughout the country and were planning to attack the PM’s private residence in Phillipine and Siparia and free 11 men who have been charged with the murder of Senior Counsel Dana Seetahal and those charged in the Vindra Naipaul-Coolman murder trial.
This leak occurred four days after the daylight escape from the Port-of-Spain prison of Allan “Scanny” Martin, Hassan Atwell and Christopher Selby, further panicking an already cagey public. Meanwhile, the investigation into an alleged marijuana find at Persad-Bissessar’s private residence in south Trinidad is expected to be completed by early next week.
The T&T Guardian understands that acting ACP Ainsley Garrick is putting finishing touches on his report before he submits it to Williams, who will then make an official statement.
That investigation was launched in June after former national security minister and Independent Liberal Party (ILP) leader Jack Warner alleged that there was a cover-up into the seizure which was made at Persad-Bissessar’s Phillipine residence on April 19, 2013.
Persad-Bissessar has denied any wrongdoing in the matter.