Trini Post

The desperate search for a missing ten-year-old girl turned to near violence in the Laventille community yesterday, when scores of irate residents clashed with heavily-armed police and soldiers. In their bid to locate Tecia Henry, a pupil of St Rose’s Girls’ Primary School, angry residents blocked the major roads with burning debris, demanding swift and more efficient action by law enforcement officials. Tecia went missing after leaving her mother’s home on Essex Street, John John, around 7.30 am on Saturday. The child was sent to K and G Mini-mart, at the lower end of John John, to purchase a phone card and other items. She never made it to the shop.

Sitting in front of the parlour, which was closed yesterday, the child’s mother Diane was visibly distraught. She tried to comfort her 12-year-old twin daughters, Tia and Tamara, who sat at their mother’s feet shedding tears for their missing sister. According to Diane, the walk from her home to the mini-mart is a mere three minutes. “When I saw a certain time I sent one of her sisters to check on her. The owner of the shop said he glimpsed her going up Crook Street,” Diane said.

Believing the mini-mart might have been closed, Diana said she thought her daughter might have gone to another shop on St Paul Street, not too far from where the child’s grandmother lived. “I called the aunt, but they said she not around. I call everybody and they say she not around.” Diane said her daughter never ran away from home. “It was school and home; nothing else.” Tecia Henry was last seen wearing a pink and grey jacket, a denim skirt, a shower cap and slippers.

By:  GEISHA KOWLESSAR of Guardian

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Two men were murdered within a 24-hour period, bringing the total murders for the year, up to late yesterday to 114. They are Randy Prescod of Diego Martin and Salim Benoit of Malabar. On the scene yesterday residents of North West Road, Patna Village uttered comments such as: “Is just another badman dead from Patna Village. “One plate (of food) less. “Same old same old, nothing new. “Just one more less to talk about.” The statements were made as undertakers removed the body of Randy Prescod, which was found in some bushes near his home with multiple gunshot wounds to the chest. He was shot five times.

But Prescod, 22, police said, was no stranger to them. They confirmed that Prescod was wanted by Cumuto police in connection with a robbery in the district. He was also being sought by Western Division detectives in connection with the disappearance of a man from that area, who police believe, was murdered. Shortly before midday yesterday, several loud explosions were heard coming from a hilly area. Police said when residents checked, they discovered Prescod’s body. At the murder scene, Prescod’s relatives declined to speak with reporters. A motive is yet to be established for the killing. Insps Henry Dan and Alfonso Patterson visited the scene and are continuing investigations.

Meanwhile Northern Division Homicide Bureau officers are investigating the shooting death of 27-year-old murder suspect Salim Benoit, of All Stars Crescent, Malabar, Arima who succumbed to his injuries at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex on Tuesday night. Benoit, police said, was the second suspect wanted in connection with the killing of 20-year-old James Jay-Z Howard. Howard of Ackbarali Drive, Malabar, was shot dead at Melodians Crescent on March 2. Another man has already been charged with Howard’s killing. Investigators said around 2.30 pm Tuesday, Benoit was liming with his girlfriend at a basketball court, opposite the Larry Gomes Stadium, when he was shot. Police said the assailant approached from behind and shot Benoit eight times about the body.

By: AKILE SIMON  of Guardian

Youthful ignorance and a lack of national pride were what drove the person(s) to deface the paintings on The People’s Canvas, outside the Queen’s Park Oval. That’s the view of Keith Nexar, director of Advantage Advertising Ltd. The beautiful paintings that adorn the Oval’s wall, which took about one year of planning and eight months to be completed, were defaced sometime over the two days of Carnival.

There were handprints, paint and even slashes on some of the paintings, which are seen by more than 300,000 pairs of eyes every week. While Nexar described the damage as “minimal,” he said the action clearly showed that some people simply did not appreciate the “beauty of work.” He placed the blame squarely at the feet of “some youths,” as he did not believe “mature” people were responsible for defacing the works of art.

Nexar said a security guard witnessed a young boy, armed with a knife, slashing paintings on the wall as he walked along the pavement. He said, “I don’t think that some young people appreciate totally the beautiful work that has gone up there. They don’t really think at that stage. They don’t think about national pride. “But, I hope they would get some in time. I really don’t think mature people did it.”

Nexar was in high praise, however, of the corporate clients who took the decision to let the paintings remain in place at the Oval for the Carnival season. He said, “A lot of people, including foreigners, were seen taking pictures of the paintings. We are very happy about that.” Nexar said citizens could look forward to Carnival 2K10, as plans were already in train to have the entire Oval walls wrapped with even more beautiful paintings.

By: CHERISSE MOE  of Guardian

Drugs and guns are coming into T&T at a faster rate than before, says National Security Minister Martin Joseph. Joseph’s revelation came at yesterday’s post-Cabinet media conference where he noted that the murder toll for the year so far stands at 90. The number of murders for the corresponding period in 2008 was 55 and 38 for the same period in 2007, Joseph said. “We know the root causes are drugs, guns and gangs…What government has to do is firstly try to reduce the inflow of guns and drugs into T&T,” he said.

Joseph said there had been a “gap” regarding the State’s naval assets to properly reduce the inflow. As a result, Joseph said the Government had decided to acquire the three offshore patrol boats, six fast patrol boats and six interceptors. He said the administration also looked at obtaining 12 pirogues on the local market. Joseph said six pirogues would be obtained by month’s end and the other six by March. “That will give increased coverage regarding the reduction of drugs and guns,” Joseph said.

“But something else is happening and one has to be extremely careful…There is something happening with the inflow of drugs and guns coming into the country and it is coming in at a faster rate than it had before.” Joseph said it was not prudent for him to discuss the matter at yesterday’s forum because of various other things in the issue. “So that is a contributory element,” Joseph said, also noting frustration on the part of police to deal with gangs. “When they go to the courts, there are impediments there and we have to correct those impediments. “So it’s not a straight case that we have done this and that and we expect performance…I’m not trying to make excuses as it’s part of the reality.

By: GAIL ALEXANDER  of Guardian

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Within an hour, five teenagers were abducted in two separate incidents in San Fernando on Saturday night. Two were shot dead and their bodies dumped in a citrus field in Tabaquite, while the others were tortured, spat upon and beaten, allegedly by soldiers.

There is no evidence to suggest that both incidents were linked. Police said Jessie Karamath, 16, of Lower Hillside, San Fernando, and Daniel Bowen, 19, of Carlton Lane, San Fernando, were beaten, tied up and then shot in their heads. Their corpses were found off a track at Brigade Road, Brasso Main Road, Brasso, yesterday. They were abducted an hour after three of their neighbours were kidnapped and beaten by men dressed as soldiers.

No motive had been found for their murders. Estate owner Ramoutar Singh said some people came to buy oranges and while walking through the citrus field around 8 am, they saw a body with the hands tied behind the back. Police were called in and they later found the second corpse. Police said both teenagers were badly beaten before they were shot. In an interview, Karamath’s sister Jennelle said she witnessed the abduction.

Sitting on concrete stairs behind her home, Jennelle said around 11.45 pm, she was walking with Karamath down the hill when a black seven-seater van pulled up. She said two men jumped out and accosted Karamath. “A woman opened the door for him and they just gone,” she said. “They drive off with my brother and I never see him again…They kill my little brother.” Jennelle said she did not know why Karamath was targeted.

Another neighbour who requested anonymity said Bowen was also kidnapped by the men in the black seven-seater van. The residents said they immediately made a report at the Mon Repos Police Station. It was only around midday yesterday that relatives were informed that the missing teenagers were dead. Bowen’s relatives refused to comment yesterday, saying that they did not know why he was killed. 

By: RADHICA SOOKRAJ of Guardian

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Crawling around in the blood of his parents, three-month-old Zion Joseph let out ear-piercing cries. But totally unaware of the tragedy which had just struck, the blood-stained baby sat next to dead bodies of his father Devon and mother Kimlin for at least two hours.

It was then that he was discovered by a neighbour just after 11 am yesterday. The neighbour immediately called the police. According to investigators, calls made by friends to the couple’s cell phones early yesterday morning, went unanswered. This was what prompted neighbours to go the house. When they entered the small house perched on a slope at Phase One, Powder Magazine in Cocorite, they were horrified by the sight of three bodies found hogtied with throats slit, from ear to ear.

The bodies of Devon, 27 and that of Kimlin, 28 were found side by side in a bedroom. Devon, police said, worked at WASA and as far as they knew had no run-ins with the law. Also discovered in the dining room was the body of Kimlin’s 14-year-old cousin, Kyle Joseph. Devon and Kimlin, who were married just over two years, used to live at Harding Place in Cocorite, Kimlin’s sister, Charmaine Mano said at the crime scene yesterday. Joseph, who had left school, went to live with the couple two months ago. “Around 11 (am) I got a phone call at work saying to come home now but I told the person I was not coming home.

By: GEISHA KOWLESSAR of Guardian

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A Trinidadian doctor was murdered in her St Lucia home Tuesday and a relative is now the main suspect, according to the island’s Assistant Commissioner of Police, Vernon Francois. St Lucia Police confirmed yesterday that leading gynaecologist Dr Trona Bennett, 60, was bludgeoned and strangled. They are working on the theory that the suspect, known to have a mental condition, may be responsible for the attack. According to Nicole Mc Donald, editor of the St Lucia Star newspaper, the killing shocked St Lucians. Police said the first alarm was sounded when Bennett failed to show up at the private Tapion Hospital, in Castries, Tuesday.

She shared an office with her former husband, Trinidadian Dr Andrew Richardson at the hospital and police reported that it was he who made the call to them to check at her home after he realised his ex-wife was not at work and also had not called the office. Police found the relative heading down from his residence and discovered blood stains on his clothing, which he told them was the result of a cut he suffered the previous night. “The relative is in police custody with reference to the investigation. At this point in time he is the suspect but as to what is going to happen moving forward, we cannot make any determination at this time,” said Francois.

By: FRANCIS JOSEPH  of Guardian

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Teenager Rajdaye Rampersad, who went missing last Friday, walked into Oropouche Police Station yesterday afternoon with her husband, Ryan Ramjit. The couple was married yesterday. Rampersad, who was dressed in a yellow outfit, told officers that she loved her new husband, and wanted to spend the rest of her life with him. Rampersad disappeared after a spiritual cleansing ceremony at a Point Fortin temple on Friday.

Her relatives and villagers had spent the weekend searching for her. Her family received a number of prank calls, including one demanding $5 million. The officers contacted Rampersad’s parents, who met their son-in-law for the first time. Rampersad apologised for causing concern and making her parents worry. Police said no charges could be laid against the teenager, since she was 18 years old, but they pleaded with others not to run away to get married, but level with their parents.

By: ANIKA GUMBS-SANDIFORD of Guardian

The body of murdered PH taxi driver Roger Benny was discovered on Kangal Trace, Munroe Road in Cunupia, around 12.45 pm, yesterday. Police said Benny was not married and lived on the Southern Main Road, Cunupia. They said they also recovered pieces of a broken bottle they believed was used to slit Benny’s throat.

Police said Benny’s abandoned Nissan B14 was discovered at Mon Plasir Road, Cunupia, around 7 am by villagers who noticed the vehicle without any number plates and called the police. Benny’s body was discovered by a farmer in the area who alerted the Cunupia police. The scene was visited by ASP Stephen Ramsubagh, Senior Supt Edwards Inspector Kennedy, and Sergeants Craig and Dripaul. Benny is the second PH driver to be slain in the last week. Azad Hosein Shah, 59, of Carapichaima was hacked to death and his body was discovered in Arima last week.

By: ADRIAN BOODAN of Guardian

There is a link to illegally registered vehicles and human trafficking. This is the view of Inshan Ishmael, president of the Pre-Owned Automobile Dealers’ Association, as he spoke about the sudden disappearance of hundreds of T&T nationals during the last few years .“Trinidad is way too small not to find someone. Where can you hide all these missing people?”

Acting Police Commissioner James Philbert, during a press briefing at Police Administration Building in Port-of-Spain, last Wednesday, confirmed that there were 77 missing people for 2008. “I am sure most of these missing people—the men, women and children—were captured, taken against their will and shipped outside for prostitution and slave labour.” Although Philbert and Attorney General Bridgid Annisette-George denied that T&T nationals were being trafficked, Ishmael thinks otherwise.
“The truth will come out. You just wait and see.”

Ishmael praised the Sunday Guardian for keeping the issue of human trafficking on the front burner and for sensitising the public.
Ishmael said it was no secret that criminals had used cars with false number plates to take their kidnap victims from one place to another without being caught.

“At least 99.9 per cent of the cars that are used by criminals have false number plates. So it all ties in with human trafficking. As a matter of fact, it’s all part of a network. I believe the problem exists.”
Ishmael said criminals operated in a pact, where every member of the group was assigned to carry out a particular function, all for the love of money.
“One would steal the car; another would kidnap the victim; while a third would make all the necessary arrangements to ship the person outside of the country.”

During the last few months, Ishmael said the criminals had shifted from kidnapping for ransom. “We have seen a pattern developing where these missing victims are all under the age of 45. All this points to human trafficking. Something is wrong, and the authorities can’t see it.”
Ishmael spoke about 15-year-old Devika Lalman, whose semi-nude body was found in a rice field in Warrenville recently.

“When Devika went missing for several days, I thought she was a victim of human trafficking. “Somehow, I feel she was taken against her will to be shipped abroad, but put up a good fight, which led to her life being taken.”

By: SHALIZA HASSANALI  of Guardian

An 18-year-old Barrackpore woman has been reported missing. Rajdaye Deyan Rampersad, of Kanhai Road in South Barrackpore, left home with her mother Bissoondaye Rampersad to worship at the Durga Temple on Dam Trace in Point Fortin on Friday. Her uncle Bobby Rampersad said that after the service, the young woman was last seen around 9 am walking with two men before getting into a white car, which drove off. Deyan was last seen wearing a yellow t-shirt and a brown skirt.

He said she only started worshiping at the temple about a month ago. “Her mother went to the washroom and when she came out and asked for Deyan, two people said she drove off in a white car. “People say they saw her walking with two men—one African and one Indian—and then they got into the car and drove off,” Rampersad said. Rampersad said this never happened in the past, as Deyan was always in the habit of telling her parents, Charran and Bissoondaye Rampersad, where she was going. He said no calls for ransom had been made to the family and that both parents are assisting the Point Fortin Police with information regarding Deyan’s disappearance. Deyan is the only child of the couple and she attends the Modern Business Private School in San Fernando.

By: INNIS FRANCIS or Guardian