Derek Achong
Senior Reporter
derek.achong@guardian.co.tt
Two men from Port-of-Spain have been convicted of possessing two guns, a bucket of bullets, a large quantity of marijuana and a grenade.
It took a nine-member jury before Justice Nalini Singh less than an hour to return guilty verdicts against Trevor Geeban of Maraval and Kadeem Weekes of East Dry River, at the end of their brief trial last Wednesday.
The case against the duo stemmed from their arrest at the Tulsa Trace Picnic Site in Penal on August 18, 2018.
Police officers were on patrol in the area around 11.40 pm when they noticed two vehicles parked near the site.
One of the vehicles sped off upon seeing the officers, while the three occupants of the other vehicle got out and attempted to run away.
The officers managed to arrest Geeban and Weekes at the bank of a river, but the third man escaped by jumping into the river and swimming to the other side.
The officers searched the vehicle, which was owned by Geeban, and found five kilos of marijuana, two pistols, a bucket containing 1,450 rounds of ammunition and the military-grade explosive device.
Geeban allegedly told officers that he had been hired by the man who escaped and did not see when the illegal items were placed in his vehicle.
The duo was charged with firearm and ammunition possession, possession of a prohibited weapon (the grenade) and marijuana trafficking.
Geeban elected to testify in his defence during the trial and claimed the items were not found in his vehicle.
He said he had been invited to a river lime at the location and was picking up rubbish after the lime when police arrived.
While being intensely cross-examined by Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Dylan Martin, Geeban could not recall key details of the alleged lime, including the name of the friend who purportedly invited him.
He claimed the friend and other attendees left before the officers arrived and that he stayed behind to chat with Weekes.
Weekes chose not to enter the witness box to corroborate the claims made by his co-accused.
Prosecutor Josiah Soo Hon led evidence from explosive expert Sgt Andy Mahabir, of the T&T Police Service’s (TTPS) Explosive Detection and Disposal Unit (EDDU).
Mahabir testified via video conferencing after Justice Singh raised concerns over him demonstrating the tests he performed on the hand grenade in court.
Mahabir donned extensive protective gear as he presented his evidence and explained that the manufacturer’s safety mechanism on the device had been replaced with a makeshift safety pin.
Khi Cambridge appeared alongside Martin and Soo Hon for the State.
Geeban and Weekes are scheduled to be sentenced on June 15.
