Newsday – Commissioner of Police (CoP) Allister Guevarro says investigations are continuing into last week’s multi-million drug seizures and warns the criminals responsible that they will not escape justice.
On December 11, police found $171 million worth of “creepy” marijuana in a boat on the Caroni Swamp and a further 600 kilos of marijuana on South Central Road, Point Fortin.
The two busts totalled 2.2 tonnes of marijuana worth an estimated $225 million.
While police did not make any arrests in either incident, Guevarro said this does not mean no one will be held accountable.
Pointing to another multimillion cocaine drug bust last year, he said investigations often unfold over time.
“On December 12, 2024, the TTPS seized 65 kilos of cocaine from the cargo area of the Piarco International Airport. No arrests were immediately made then, but on December 1, 2025, two persons were arrested and charged in connection with that seizure.
“That is the nature of investigative work, some matters take longer than others, but the long arms of the law are always ready to deal with criminals, even those who may have believed they escaped justice.”
Guevarro noted police were similarly criticised then for not making any immediate arrests, but added, “The eventual outcome demonstrated the strength and persistence of our investigations. As the saying goes, time is longer than twine.”
A senior police source has also since dismissed any link between the two major hauls last week, meaning police will be looking for multiple suspects.
The source told Newsday, “There is no information to suggest that the two are linked,” and added, “The packaging was totally different.”
Speaking at the launch of a Municipal Police Post in Port of Spain on December 12, the CoP suggested the circumstances surrounding the hauls were not conducive to a sting operation as the criminals would already have been spooked.
He said the criminals would have likely been aware the police had entered the swamp, heard their boats, and therefore were unlikely to return to retrieve the haul.
“Why must I leave my officers to do surveillance in the bush for two and three nights to get mosquito bite and dengue. The simplest thing is to take the marijuana and remove it and later destroy it.”
He added while having “nobody to answer” for the drugs “does not paint a good picture” he must also balance the allocation of resources at his disposal.
“The resources that are placed under my remit to treat with crime in TT is one that I must weigh and measure on a daily basis to see where they must reside. And I would be very hard pressed to leave my officers in the bush to wait or in the swamp to wait for someone to come back and collect their 1.5 tonnes of marijuana when persons would have heard a boat going up there with the police.”
Police credited the military radar at the ANR Robinson Airport in Tobago with the seizure at the Caroni swamp.
A statement on December 11 titled, New radar system delivers major narcotics seizure in Caroni Swamp, police described the haul and the radar’s role in it as a significant breakthrough in its border security operations.
Guevarro revealed it was the “first successful operation utilising the newly installed radar system,” but could not share the nature of the technology and operational aspects of the exercise with the public.
“The radar system, recently commissioned to strengthen the national security apparatus, was instrumental in this discovery,” the statement said.
Homeland Security Minister Roger Alexander, who was also on hand to survey the seizure, thanked the US for their role in helping TT acquire the radar.
“We also want to thank our foreign counterparts who saw it fit with the application coming from the Prime Minister to provide us with some technology that we are able to implement now for success.”
