Six held in deadly police station heist in Trinidad

National police in Trinidad have arrested six people, including two municipal officers, in connection with the weekend murder of a colleague and theft of more than 60 weapons from a station in South Trinidad.

Nationals woke up to the bizarre news on Sunday after colleagues had discovered the body of municipal police officer Corporal Anushka Eversley, 42. Investigators say she was shot and killed after unidentified persons had invaded the station in San Fernando, where she was the lone officer on duty during the wee hours of Sunday.

The incident forced both Prime Minister Kamla Persad Bissessar and Police Chief Allister Guevarro to move to assure the public that the incident should not be regarded as a terrorist attack or one that had singled out local police for violence.

“There is no need for any curfew. “Law-abiding citizens are encouraged to go about their lawful business as usual,” she said, calling the incident one of “internal betrayal,” as investigators zoom in on suspected collaboration of fellow officers. Eversley was a mother of three.

“I have been advised that the incident which occurred earlier today at the San Fernando city corporation municipal police station on Kings Wharf was not an external attack on the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) or the national state security services.

It was an internal betrayal perpetrated against the Trinidad and Tobago Municipal Police Service (TTMPS) attached to the San Fernando corporation. It should be noted that the TTPS is a distinct entity from the TTMPS. TTPS officers were not involved in the incident,” the PM stated in a social media post.

Updating the federation with Tobago on Monday, police said they had so far recovered just over 20 weapons following raids at several locations, including the home of a municipal officer. Some of the weapons included shotguns. The recovered cache includes 10 M&P pistols, 10 Glock 19 pistols, a Browning pistol, a Smith & Wesson pistol, and 612 rounds of 9mm ammunition.

“Commissioner of Police, Allister Guevarro, led officers on the ground in the early hours of this morning as the investigation progressed and took a critical turn. Investigations remain ongoing and are at a sensitive stage. The TTPS assures the public that all efforts are being made to bring those responsible to justice,” the TTPS stated.

Meanwhile, in neighboring Guyana, police are also probing the disappearance of seven handguns and 68 rounds of ammunition from a coastal station. The heist was discovered late last week.