Trinidad and Tobago admits firearm dealers illegal arrest in Barbados

The Trinidad and Tobago government has conceded that its police officers acted illegally in the controversial arrest of firearm dealer Brent Thomas in Barbados and his subsequent forced return to Trinidad in October 2022, the Trinidad Guardian has reported.

In a stunning admission during an appeal hearing at the Waterfront Judicial Centre in Port-of-Spain, lawyers for the Office of the Attorney General acknowledged the unlawful actions of the officers. King’s Counsel Peter Knox, representing the state, claimed the officers’ actions were based on a legitimate belief that Thomas was attempting to flee the country while under investigation.

“They [the police] acted wrongly, but they did not act maliciously,” Knox told the court.

The case stems from a lawsuit filed by Thomas over his forced deportation from Barbados and a police probe into him and his company, Specialist Shooters Training Centre Limited. High Court Judge Devindra Rampersad had previously upheld Thomas’s lawsuit, ordering compensation for breaches of his constitutional rights and illegal arrest and detention.

Knox argued that while Justice Rampersad was entitled to make findings against the officers and order compensation, “they [the findings] should have been made against the T&T Police Service (TTPS) and not the State”.

The state’s counsel also contended that the judge had overstepped in staying criminal charges against Thomas and making adverse findings related to the probe. Knox claimed: “There was evidence that Thomas was found in possession of three prohibited automatic rifles and six non-lethal grenades, which led to him being charged.”

But Thomas’s lawyer, Fyard Hosein, called on the appeal panel to uphold Justice Rampersad’s judgment. Hosein argued that his client should not have been prosecuted for what he described as a “legal loophole” used by five police commissioners to obtain weapons and ammunition for local law enforcement agencies over nearly two decades.

“We do not know who is truly responsible for this ghastly deed,” Hosein said, referring to Thomas’s detention in Barbados. He noted that police officers were aware Thomas had travelled to Barbados en route to the United States for medical attention when they took action.

The case has raised significant questions about cross-border policing practices and the limits of state power. The Barbados government has also accepted liability for its role in Thomas’s arrest.

Senior Counsel Ian Benjamin, representing the Trinidad and Tobago Director of Public Prosecutions, argued that Judge Rampersad had misconstrued the Firearms Act. Benjamin said: “He [the judge] did not construe the provisions at all … There was no foundation or reasoning.”

The case’s background involves a series of events starting in August 2022, when TTPS officers executed search warrants on Thomas. He was initially detained on September 29 but released after a High Court judge upheld a lawsuit challenging his continued detention.

On October 5, Thomas was arrested by heavily armed police at his hotel room. He was briefly detained before being transported to Grantley Adams International Airport where he was handed over to Trinidadian police officers.

The appeal court in Port of Spain comprising Justices Prakash Moosai, Charmaine Pemberton, and Mira Dean Armorer, has reserved its decision on the appeal.

(BT/Trinidad Guardian.)