New Flying Squad to tell all tomorrow

Several members of the New Flying Squad Investigation Unit (NFSIU) will speak out for the first time tomorrow. They will host a press conference at 10 am at Donrich Security Ltd, Factory Road, Golden Grove, Arouca, the address from which the unit allegedly worked secretly for four months. After relocating from Henry Street, Port-of-Spain, in September, the NFSIU began operating from the Arouca offices owned by businessman Richard Koorn.

Several members of the unit are expected to disclose the role they played in it and under whose instructions they operated. A series of e-mails and documents are also expected to be produced to substantiate the existence of the NFSIU. The members are also expected to disclose some of the investigations they assisted with and to whom the information was forwarded.

Since Saturday, several key members who were in communication with officials from the Ministry of National Security and the National Security Operations Centre (NSOC) have sworn to affidavits outlining details of the setting-up of the unit. The NFSIU members contend they were given the go-ahead to operate by ministry officials. Retired police inspector Mervyn Cordner has claimed Minister of National Security Jack Warner recalled him to head it.

However, Warner has repeatedly denied any knowledge of that. Director of NSOC Garvin Heerah, who has been identified in several e-mail treads as aiding and facilitating the NFSIU, has also denied its existence. Among the assistance Heerah gave to the NFSIU was the arranging of "transport requirements." E-mails also showed the deputy director of NSOC, David Araujo, also was in communication with the NFSIU.

The acting Commissioner of Police (CoP) Stephen Williams has also repeatedly said he was unaware of the NFSIU and learned of it after reading a T&T Guardian story on February 2. However, Heerah, in a report to Warner, said he had approached the acting CoP to ask for the members to be made Special Reserve Officers (SRPs). Documents showed the recommendation was put forward by Deputy Commissioner of Police Mervyn Richardson who has not denied his involvement with the NFSIU. 

Meanwhile, Purnell "Rocky" Pacheco, the manager of finance at SWAT Estate Police Co Ltd, has been rehired. He was asked to resign from the security firm last week after being implicated in the Flying Squad affair. He was informed of the decision on Tuesday evening after a directive was given to rehire him. It is uncertain who gave the directive. Contacted yesterday, Pacheco said: "No comment.