Raids carried out at three major prisons across the country yesterday saw the seizure of numerous improvised weapons and cell phones.
The searches started around 8 am simultaneously at the Port-of-Spain and Maximum Security Prisons and the Golden Grove Remand Yard. The items, according to prison sources, were seized from the cells of inmates.
Prisons Commissioner Gerard Wilson confirmed that the “searches were a success.”
“There were no issues and everything went smoothly,” Wilson said.
The exercise, which was conducted by an elite unit of the T&T Prison Service, was the first since the lock down of the PoS Prison which led to the killing of prison officer Davendra Boodooram.
Boodooram was shot dead in his vehicle along Frederick Street on January 26 shortly after leaving duty at the Port-of-Spain Prison.
However, yesterday’s lockdowns occurred hours after a gun attack on the home of a prison officer in south Trinidad at midnight Wednesday.
Police said the officer, who has over 20 years service, was at home with his wife watching TV when they heard several gunshots.
The officer told police he looked outside and saw two men running away before they jumped into a car and fled the scene. The officer said when he came outside yesterday morning he saw five spent shells on the ground and bullet holes in the walls.
However, Wilson last night told CNC3 this incident and the lockdown were unrelated, noting the officer had a personal issue which may have resulted in the attack.