debut: 2/16/17
36,394 runs
State concedes firearm dealer Brent Thomas’ arrest unlawful
The State has conceded that police officers acted illegally in their controversial arrest of firearm dealer Brent Thomas in Barbados and his subsequent return to this country in October 2022.The admission was made by lawyers for the Office of the Attorney General as they presented submissions in an appeal over a decision by High Court Judge Devindra Rampersad to uphold Thomas’ lawsuit over his forced deportation and police probe into him and his company, Specialist Shooters Training Centre Limited. Presenting submissions at the Waterfront Judicial Centre in Port-of-Spain yesterday morning, King’s Counsel Peter Knox claimed that the officers’ unlawful actions were based on a legitimate belief that Thomas was seeking to flee the country while under investigation.
Dealing with Thomas’ detention in Barbados, Hosein claimed that the findings had to be made against the State as the AG’s office failed to disclose whether any government official assisted or facilitated his forced return to T&T. “We do not know who is truly responsible for this ghastly deed,” he said. He noted that police officers were aware that Thomas had travelled to Barbados in transit to the United States to seek medical attention when they took the action. Referring to several international cases in which prosecutions for serious offences, including terrorism, were stayed due to similar illegal extraditions, Hosein suggested that the judge was right to halt the case against Thomas.
The following day, Thomas travelled to Barbados to visit his specialist doctor. On October 5, he was arrested by heavily armed Barbados police at his hotel room. Thomas was briefly detained before being transported to the Grantley Adams International Airport, where he was handed over to ASP Birch and another officer, who had previously executed some of the search warrants on his business and home. Thomas was returned to Trinidad on a light aircraft subsequently linked to the Regional Security Services (RSS) and was charged with seven firearm offences related to the rifles and grenades under corresponding arrest warrants.The Barbados Government has also accepted liability for the role of its officials involved in Thomas’ arrest. In late April last year, Justice Rampersad upheld Thomas’ case. He ordered compensation for the breaches of his constitutional rights and for his illegal arrest and detention. A date for the assessment of the compensation is yet to be set, with such likely to take place only if Justice Rampersad’s judgment is upheld on appeal.
The State has conceded that police officers acted illegally in their controversial arrest of firearm dealer Brent Thomas in Barbados and his subsequent return to this country in October 2022.The admission was made by lawyers for the Office of the Attorney General as they presented submissions in an appeal over a decision by High Court Judge Devindra Rampersad to uphold Thomas’ lawsuit over his forced deportation and police probe into him and his company, Specialist Shooters Training Centre Limited. Presenting submissions at the Waterfront Judicial Centre in Port-of-Spain yesterday morning, King’s Counsel Peter Knox claimed that the officers’ unlawful actions were based on a legitimate belief that Thomas was seeking to flee the country while under investigation.
Dealing with Thomas’ detention in Barbados, Hosein claimed that the findings had to be made against the State as the AG’s office failed to disclose whether any government official assisted or facilitated his forced return to T&T. “We do not know who is truly responsible for this ghastly deed,” he said. He noted that police officers were aware that Thomas had travelled to Barbados in transit to the United States to seek medical attention when they took the action. Referring to several international cases in which prosecutions for serious offences, including terrorism, were stayed due to similar illegal extraditions, Hosein suggested that the judge was right to halt the case against Thomas.
The following day, Thomas travelled to Barbados to visit his specialist doctor. On October 5, he was arrested by heavily armed Barbados police at his hotel room. Thomas was briefly detained before being transported to the Grantley Adams International Airport, where he was handed over to ASP Birch and another officer, who had previously executed some of the search warrants on his business and home. Thomas was returned to Trinidad on a light aircraft subsequently linked to the Regional Security Services (RSS) and was charged with seven firearm offences related to the rifles and grenades under corresponding arrest warrants.The Barbados Government has also accepted liability for the role of its officials involved in Thomas’ arrest. In late April last year, Justice Rampersad upheld Thomas’ case. He ordered compensation for the breaches of his constitutional rights and for his illegal arrest and detention. A date for the assessment of the compensation is yet to be set, with such likely to take place only if Justice Rampersad’s judgment is upheld on appeal.
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