[UPDATED] Judge throws out Warner bid to reclaim Wallerfield quarry

HIGH COURT judge Frank Seepersad struck a major blow to the Warner Group of companies, owned by Allan Warner, the Prime Minister's friend, after he threw out an application seeking to compel the police to vacate his Wallerfield plant and return multi-million-dollar quarry equipment and machinery they seized as part of a complex illegal mining probe.

In an oral ruling on August 21, the judge said, "In this society, lawlessness is rampant and there is a culture that connections will always circumvent the need for due process. However, this court will always adopt a no-tolerance approach to any possible unlawful conduct.

"The issue of illegal mining is one in which the public has a vested interest. Unregulated mining can have an adverse effect upon the environment. When forests are indiscriminately removed and waterways become clogged with silt, these occurrences interfere with the ecological balance and contribute, inter alia, to flooding which can occasion significant distress to citizens."

Warner, his son Aluko, and 11 other people were charged with offences arising out of illegal quarrying in two separate police operations on December 2, 2023 at Vega de Oropouche, Sangre Grande and on May 2 at Moonan Road, Wallerfield. They remain on bail pending the hearing of the criminal charges.

In the first hearing of the constitutional matter on July 17, acting Director of Public Prosecutions Joan Honore-Paul, SC, said a lawsuit filed by five companies of the Warner Group – Warns Quarry Co Ltd, Warner Construction and Sanitation Ltd, Inez Investments Ltd, Pres-T-con 2021 Ltd and Allcrete Ltd – and 12 people charged with illegal mining is seeking to interfere with an ongoing complex criminal investigation and the pending criminal charges.

In his ruling, the judge said he would not disregard the fact that the claimants have been charged with offences which are still before a magistrate. He said the DPP's office "has candidly indicated that certain investigations are still ongoing, as the scientific testing and analysis of some of the items and equipment from the Moonan property and at the (Vega de) Oropouche property still has to be engaged."

He said the police have also deposed that several items seized, such as cellphones, tools and a trash pump, have already been returned.

"This has instilled in the court a feeling that the prosecuting authority is acting in good faith and is not behaving in a manner which is oppressive and unreasonable."

The judge said while he appreciated the "economic loss" to the Warner companies, as they have not been able to operate without key equipment or access to the site, he noted they can be compensated if the charges are eventually dismissed and they can establish that they were maliciously prosecuted.

"A constitutional court must act with caution and should not pre-empt any legitimate investigative process. Nor should it interfere with the reasonable and or rational exercise of investigative and prosecutorial discretion," Seepersad said.

He said where alternative remedies are available to the claimants, "Caution should be exercised and a constitutional claim only be maintained where there exist special features which justify the invocation of the court's constitutional jurisdiction."

Seepersad said there were "no exceptional circumstances which would warrant any interference with the ongoing criminal proceedings and/or with the investigative processes which are being engaged."

He said Warns Quarry Co Ltd had not provided any evidence to show it had the relevant clearance under the Minerals Act to process aggregate when the charges were filed, and a licence granted by the Ministry of Energy and Energy Industries on June 18 did not have retroactive effect.

The judge also referred to a licence granted by Commissioner of State Land Paula Drakes on May 24 authorising Warns Quarry to occupy 16.6 hectares of land at Wallerfield, after the criminal charges were laid, but said there was no information before him to show any connection with an existing lease granted by Moonan to Pres-T-con 2021 to occupy ten acres of the same property.

He said the documentary evidence shows the lease to Pres-T-con does not vest Warns Quarry "with any right to exclusive possession of the Moonan property," and the same licence acknowledges that the State is the landlord.

As part of the police investigation, police claimed they had information that aggregate from Vega de Oropouche was being taken to the Moonan wash plant. The judge said the June 18 mining licence gave Warns Quarry "conditional authorisation" to begin processing minerals provided all the necessary approvals were granted, including a certificate of environmental clearance from the Environmental Management Authority.

Attorneys Jason Mootoo SC and Tamara Toolsie appeared for the Attorney General. Ian Benjamin, SC, Tekijah Jorsling, Vincent Jardine and Akeenie Murray appeared for the DPP, and Farai Masaisai and Christopher George appeared for the claimants.

Background

Four men were held for illegal quarrying after a police operation at an area known as Five Acres, Vega de Oropouche, Sangre Grande, on December 2.

Quarry manager Willinsque Tobias, Aaron Neptune and excavator operators Rudy Sahai and Ahmeed David were each granted $50,000 bail after they were charged by officers of the Multi-Agency Task Force led by ASP Leon Haynes.

A 40-tonne excavator and a 20-tonne excavator, among other equipment, were seized during the police operation and taken to the regiment’s Camp Cumuto for safekeeping.

One of the excavators has since been returned to Massy Machinery Ltd after a ruling by the magistrate.

On May 2, eight men were charged with processing minerals without a licence after police raided a wash plant on Moonan Road, off Agua Santa Road, Wallerfield.

Cpl Terrence Nowbutt jointly charged Aluko Ato Warner, Robert Wilson, Reuben Maprangala, Ricky Joseph, Corey Charles, Deon George, Shastri Mahadeo and Kimal Williams with processing minerals without a licence. They were granted bail of $75,000.

On July 4, Allan Warner, founder of the Warner Group, was charged with processing minerals without a licence and released on $100,000 bail.

This story was originally published with the title Judge rules against Warner in quarry probe and has been adjusted to include additional details. See original post below.

HIGH Court judge Frank Seepersad has dismissed a claim filed by Warns Quarry Co Ltd, a company under the Warner Group, which sought the return of multi-million-dollar quarry equipment and machinery seized by police in two investigations stemming from allegations of illegal quarrying.

The judge ruled on August 21 that the police must be given "reasonable time" for "various investigative processes."

He noted that a mining licence granted by the Ministry of Energy and Energy Industries on June 18, after police charged several people for processing minerals without a licence at Wallerfield, did not have a "retroactive effect and cannot be relied upon to justify any mining activity which may have occurred before they were issued."

On December 2, 2023, four men were held for illegal quarrying after a police operation at an area known as Five Acres, Vega de Oropouche, Sangre Grande.

Quarry manager Willinsque Tobias, Aaron Neptune and excavator operators Rudy Sahai and Ahmeed David were each granted $50,000 bail after being charged by officers of the Multi-Agency Task Force led by ASP Leon Haynes.

A 40-tonne excavator and a 20-tonne excavator, among other equipment, were seized during the police operation and taken to the regiment’s Camp Cumuto for safekeeping.

One of the excavators has since been returned to Massy Machinery Ltd after a ruling by the magistrate.

On May 2, eight men were charged with processing minerals without a licence after police raided a wash plant on Moonan Road, off Agua Santa Road, Wallerfield.

Cpl Terrence Nowbutt jointly charged Aluko Ato Warner, Robert Wilson, Reuben Maprangala, Ricky Joseph, Corey Charles, Deon George, Shastri Mahadeo and Kimal Williams with processing minerals without a licence. They were granted bail of $75,000.

On July 4, Allan Warner, founder of the Warner Group, was charged with processing minerals without a licence and released on $100,000 bail.

Warner is a close friend of the Prime Minister.