Judge reserves ruling in Carnival terror plot lawsuit

A San Juan man will have to wait closer to the end of the year for a decision in his lawsuit over a week-long police detention tied to an alleged terrorist plot to disrupt Carnival celebrations in 2018.

Justice Robin Mohammed has reserved judgment in Tariq Mohammed’s lawsuit for wrongful arrest, false imprisonment and physical mistreatment by police who raided his family’s home in Mohammedville, El Socorro Road, San Juan, on February 8, 2018.

At the end of the two-day virtual hearing on April 30, Justice Mohammed said he would deliver his ruling by October 29.

Mohammed’s lawsuit contends that the police unlawfully entered and searched his home at Mohammedville, El Socorro, before detaining him for six days. Mohammed said the police banged on his door and restrained him with tie straps before carrying out searches reportedly for arms, ammunition and explosives.

Mohammed described the police’s actions as “traumatic and distressing.” He said that when he heard banging at his door at 3 am on February 8, 2018, he did not immediately know it was the police, thinking it was bandits. He said the officers only showed him a warrant after they searched his apartment.

The officers initially searched his young brother, Wasim's, apartment before moving on to the area occupied by Mohammed, his wife, and their parents.

No explosives or contraband were found during the first search. However, police returned hours later and arrested Mohammed, detaining him at the Belmont Police Station for seven days. He was released on Ash Wednesday without charge.

His brother, Wasim Mohammed, filed a separate claim which was recently upheld by Justice Westmin James, who awarded him more than $80,000 in compensation and legal costs of $21,448.33, plus interest.

Testifying on the second day of the trial on April 30, acting Assistant Commissioner of Police Denis Knutt, who led the 2018 raid, denied claims that police failed to present a warrant before searching the premises. He testified that he was instructed by a senior officer overseeing the investigation to return and take Tariq Mohammed in for questioning.

Mohammed’s attorney, Kingsley Walesby, presented a 2016 letter from the Ministry of National Security to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which had been used to support Mohammed’s release from detention in Saudi Arabia. The letter stated that Mohammed had no criminal record and was not suspected of terrorist activity.

Walesby suggested that it showed that Mohammed did not have the propensity to engage in the conduct he was suspected of, and also noted that Mohammed’s arrest was over a year after he was released by the Saudi Arabian authorities and returned to Trinidad and Tobago.

However, Knutt insisted that the police service had a duty to investigate credible intelligence from foreign law enforcement agencies.

“You have to look to eliminate all elements of doubt,” he said.

He also admitted he did not see the document referred to by the attorney. He also said Mohammed’s interview was recorded on video, which was submitted to state attorneys, but only a transcript had been disclosed in court filings.

Knutt maintained that Mohammed was not formally arrested but had voluntarily accompanied officers to the police station.

Alvin Ramroop and Safraz Alsaran also represent Mohammed, while Senior Counsel Russell Martineau leads the legal team for the Attorney General.