Moonilal wants meeting with CoP

Oropouche East MP Dr Roodal Moonilal says he wants a meeting with Police Commissioner Gary Griffith to discuss information that “certain political operatives” are seeking to induce senior TTPS officers into accepting political office as an inducement to do their bidding.

“That is something I have taken note of and it is a matter I intend, in the coming days, to either discuss or write to the Commissioner of Police, to alert him of that type of intelligence which has come to my attention within recent times,” he told Sunday Newsday.

The MP, who had raised the issue on Friday during debate on the Trespass Amendment Bill in the House of Representatives, which was passed by a simple majority, alleged the police officers were being lured by offers of future political careers.

Moonilal said the development was tantamount to a “diabolical and deadly cocktail.”

Moonilal also called for new laws to forbid retiring police officers from taking up political posts.

On whether he had reported to the police, allegations that rogue officers had helped in kicking people out of their homes for gangsters to move in, Moonilal said he learnt of the situation in 2013 during his term as housing minister in the former People’s Partnership administration.

“In discussions at that time, it was around 2013, that type of information would have been relayed to the police. It was not a question of going to make a report but it was the sort of information or intelligence we had when persons came to the ministry to report that persons had taken over their homes and intended to throw them out illegally.”

He added: “But in one case in particular, we had called for the police and before the police even arrived, the person got another threatening phone call, actually making a connection that it was reported to the police.”

Moonilal could not say if the situation was still occurring.

“We were looking at it and I don’t know what happened over time. But it is something we were very conscious of and it is in keeping with other experiences.

“We had reports like that in 2014 and I heard nothing thereafter. In 2015, of course, we demitted office so I don’t know if these things still obtain.”

Moonilal said even National Security and Communications Minister Stuart Young had related a story a few months ago about a police officer going on a raid “and before they reach on the raid someone from the police station had tipped off the person.”