President of Trinidad & Tobago Mr Keith Rowley. Photo: Internet Source

During a media briefing at Whitehall yesterday, the Prime Minister revealed that he spoke with senior officials from the CIA and FBI during his visit to Washington DC this week.

When pressed for clarity on what prompted the meeting with the US officials and what led to his unease, Rowley said T&T was being “liked” by certain international organised crime figures.

“We are an open country in international trade, and international contact. And even outside of our official entry points, what we have been discovering is that certain criminals are ‘liking’ us and these are not small-timers. I say no more on that,” Rowley said.

Moments after Rowley’s disclosure, one senior police source referred to the seizure of a quantity of automatic weapons in Santa Cruz last October, noting the majority of the guns were traced to the US, with the two .50-calibre machine guns originating from Colombia.

The source suggested the weapons were being brought in by criminals who were already imprisoned.

Pointing to an instance where firearm components were shipped in boxes for television parts, the officer noted that criminals were being more innovative in how they were transporting weapons.