Senior police officers yesterday linked the weekend's seizure of US$2 million in a container by members of the Customs and Excise Division to the nefarious narcotics trade.The money, which was hidden in a crate of ply board and shipped to Trinidad earlier in the week, was found last Friday at the Pt Lisas Port.
Senior police officers said yesterday they believe because of the amount of cash involved, it may by payment for drug/guns deal.Contacted yesterday, however, Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi, who did not confirm or deny there was a drug link in the seizure, said the matter was under intense investigation.
"I would not answer these specific questions. Let's just say I am very grateful the cash was found and action is being taken," Al-Rawi told the T&T Guardian in a telephone interview. He said the probe was taking place "across all entities of the National Security Ministry," but maintained that it was premature to give details.
"The cash is just one aspect of a larger picture, but the country can be assured there are a range of laws to treat with it, including the Customs Act, the Proceeds of Crime Act, in particular, and the matter is being addressed within the four corners of the investigation and also the legislation."
In a press statement over the weekend, the Point Lisas Industrial Development Company (Plipdeco) said Customs and port officials, as part of their normal operating protocol, sent a flat rack containing ply board to the Point Lisas Container Examination Station (CES) for further review.
"At the CES, the contents of the flat rack were checked by a joint Customs and police team and approximately $2 million in United States currency was discovered. The cargo arrived in Trinidad on Wednesday, November 2, aboard one of Plipdeco's scheduled container carriers."
On the specifics of the law which could be applied, Al-Rawi said it would begin with the declaration as stated in the Customs Act and also the ability of the Government to forfeit that which could not be explained.
"This particular investigation also included the fact that there are false papers in the declaration. It is a host of positions; too wide to just pinpoint any one law. What we really are interested in is the circumstances surrounding the importation because obviously that is the crux of the investigation. Hence why particulars can not be given as yet.
"But you obviously can bring in money if you declare money, but no one brings in money to the tune of US$2 million," Al-Rawi said.
The matter, the AG added, also has a significant amount of "intersection" into the Government's focus in the fight against crime, especially "following the money" as a means to nab money launderers and drug traffickers.
"All crimes, in our view, can be reduced to the common denominator of cash and transactions and money in its various forms, whether or not it is held in assets or otherwise. Our focus is squarely on that," Al-Rawi said.
"You certainly do not import cash in a container unless you are the Central Bank and you're importing new currency notes which you ordered from abroad."
Saying this country's borders were left unprotected for a very long time, he said within recent times there has been an increase in drug seizures of the seas.
Why no sting operation?
But former national security minister Gary Griffith said he was baffled by the fact that law enforcement officials did not conduct a sting operation to determine who was behind the importation of the cash.
"We need to think outside the box in our law enforcement strategy rather than do the search, find the money and just take it," Griffith said.
"The money could have been left there; and the law enforcement could have found out who was actually going to collect it. Unfortunately, this might just be a situation where we acquire illegal weapons, drugs and US$2 million and not be able to pinpoint the perpetrators of the crime. Getting the cash is of little value if the individuals instrumental in causing this crime are not be apprehended."
Griffith added that the operations of the National Operations Centre had been "virtually watered down" by National Security Minister Edmund Dillon.
"Had this centre been an independent body and not being squeezed under the Strategic Services Agency (SSA)–now a toothless bulldog–somebody there would have had the authority to direct the police and Customs to back off, leave the cash and observe what was going to happen," Griffith said.
Saying intelligence gathering was key, Griffith called on the SSA to play a more pivotal role.
"We don't have undercover covert operatives. We need individuals who need to go deep into the underworld and become the main element to get intelligence. That is what the SSA should be doing. They need some powerful injection to get involved."
He said the issue also underscored the need to take T&T out of "this dinosaur era" where the Customs and Excise Division was still under the Finance Ministry as opposed to the National Security Ministry.
"That would play a very big part towards that cohesion and sharing of information in real time as well as proper training. Customs is more value to our country in securing our borders than being a revenue earner," Griffith said.
On whether the money was linked to drugs, Griffith said it would be foolhardy to believe this, as there could be several reasons, including payment for illegal weapons or transshipment to another country.
Saying organised criminals were becoming more emboldened in their efforts, Griffith said this was because there were no more checks and balances, no measurement of performance and no accountability.
Also contacted yesterday, chief immigration officer Charmaine Gandhi-Andrews said they would only play a role if a foreign national was implicated, resulting in prosecution.
HIGH-PROFILE BUSTS
A defunct company, which was never removed from the Companies Register, was used as a cover to ship $640 million in liquid cocaine, stored in juice tins, to the United States in December 2013.Al-Rawi had made this disclosure as he underscored the importance of civil asset forfeiture legislation.
In September 2011 a search of a 40-foot container Pt Lisas Port also resulted in the seizure of high-grade Arizona marijuana with an street value of $7.4 million.The marijuana, believed to have been brought in from the United States, was wrapped in plastic and tucked into white crocus bags and hidden among chickens.
A prominent businessman of central Trinidad, to whom the container had been assigned, had been assisting police with the investigations. But police said there was very little headway made in that particular case as there was no concrete evidence to link anyone to the incident.
"All we have had was just speculation and circumstantial evidence which would not hold up in court. But it does not mean the case is closed," one officer said.