The Prime Minister’s security detail and other members of his entourage were among passengers who were told to disembark the T&T Express yesterday morning at the Scarborough Port, following the sudden cancellation of its sailing to Trinidad.

However, at about 4.41 pm passengers finally boarded for sailing to Trinidad after the technical problem which forced the delay was rectified.

The initial sailing of the vessel was scheduled for 6.30 am and expected to arrive in Port-of-Spain (PoS) at 10.30 am yesterday. It was then expected to depart PoS at 4 pm and arrive back in Scarborough at about 8 pm. However, the return sailing was cancelled due to the issues with the vessel.

This latest development came less than 12 hours after Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley met with the Tobago stakeholders regarding the collapsed sea bridge, including the failed procurement of the Ocean Flower 2 from Bridgemans Services Group.

Yesterday’s delay and cancellation caused much frustration for passengers, especially the ones who visited Tobago over the weekend for the annual Great Race weekend festivities.

Many of them attempted to make alternative arrangements on the air bridge, but the T&T Guardian was told there were no available flights to Trinidad from ANR Robinson International Airport due to full bookings. The standby list had exceeded 150 up to press time.

Passengers described the situation at the Scarborough Port yesterday as “pure chaos.”

Contacted earlier yesterday, head of communications at T&T Inter-island Transportation Limited, Vilma Lewis-Cockburn, confirmed that electrical issues had caused the delay to the T&T Express sailing and that passengers were eventually asked to disembark. At about 4.40 pm, Lewis-Cockburn said the problem had been rectified and passengers had re-boarded for departure.

Speaking to the T&T Guardian under strict anonymity, a port worker said passengers were hurling abusive language in frustration when they were made aware of the issue.

“People with their children, their babies, sitting all on the ground frustrated. They don’t even know when they will get to go home after their little relax time. They stressed out. People cussing and quarrelling, begging for the sea bridge to be properly functional without hiccups. It really is a sad sight.”

When contacted for comment yesterday, president of the Tobago Chamber of Industry and Commerce Demi John Cruickshank said it was time for the vessel to be “dry docked.”

Asked if he thought the problem yesterday could have been an act of sabotage, given that the PM’s official vehicles and officials were on board and he had just discussed the issue the day before with Tobago stakeholders, Cruickshank laughed and said: “I am happy that the PM and his people are feeling, first hand, the effect of what we Tobago people feel and go through on a daily basis, but sabotage is not something I would want to put on the table.”

He added: “Those vessels are very old and due for dry dock. I mean, literally, the T&T Express due for an overhaul. Given the vessel’s age I hope it is serviced properly.”

Former transport minister Devant Maharaj weighed in on this latest development yesterday, describing it as “continued incompetence and ineptitude.”

“Tobago is now essentially cut off from Trinidad. This administration, headed by a Tobago-born Prime Minister that campaigned on a ticket of good governance and transparency, has continued to bungle and botch the Tobago sea and air bridge connections without taking responsibility. The Prime Minister continues to protect the line minister, who has only distinguished himself in making excuses and passing the blame,” Maharaj said.

The T&T Express, built in 1997, was purchased by the government and commissioned into service on December 27, 2006.

The body of missing hiker Richard Baird was found yesterday but could not be air-lifted out of the dense Aripo forest.

Soldiers remained at the site last night and a fresh attempt will be mounted today to remove Baird’s body.

After almost three days of intense searches, Baird’s decomposing body was found near the trail where he went missing.

Around 11 am an Aripo resident, who was among members of the search team, found Baird’s body at the bottom of a precipice.

Baird, 55, a computer technician at State-owned energy company Petrotrin, was heading to the Hollis waterfall with a group of 65 other hikers when he got lost.

A National Operations Centre helicopter was unable to airlift the body from the remote location due to the density of the forest.

Police said that the method was selected over hiking through the forest with the body as they wish to preserve it as best as possible for an eventual autopsy. Villagers were ferried by helicopter late yesterday to help clear an area for the aircraft to land.

A team of crime scene investigators were also airlifted to the site and took photographs of the location and the body, as homicide detectives have not received enough information to deem his death an accident.

The helicopter’s first attempt to remove the body yesterday was delayed as the rescue team did not have sufficient rope to facilitate the attempt. Even though the additional length of rope was quickly sourced, it was still not enough to lower a basket to the site due to the topography of the area.

Members of the search and rescue team suggested that Baird may have died shortly after he went missing on Saturday.

In an interview at the assembly point, Baird’s son Kern thanked the members of the protective services and the villagers for their dedication and assistance.

“All I did was leave home and come to the assembly point each morning. People left their jobs and homes each morning to help find somebody they did not know and they did everything possible,” Kern said.

He also stated that he would not give up hope that his father was still alive until he sees his body.

“Even as they found a body I will wait until it is identified. I still have hope and faith,” he said.

Kern said he had suggested to his father to participate in the hike on Saturday.

“To be honest I did encourage him to go when I heard about the hike. He has been hiking longer than I know myself because he introduced me to hiking through Cub Scouts. He was familiar the bush,” Kern said.

Baird, of Rousillac, went missing around 2.15 pm on Saturday. He had reportedly stopped to rest when he went missing. The hiking club members returned to look for him but were unsuccessful.

The persons who participated in the hike are expected to be re-interviewed by police once Baird’s body is recovered.

Superintendent Neville Sankar is coordinating the recovery efforts and police investigation.

His family described him as a frequent hiker but said that it was his first time in Aripo and that he is suffering from a knee injury.

Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley on Monday urged the media to read an April 16, 2017 T&T Guardian article written by Khamal Georges, saying it would provide answers to some of their questions involving the contract and operations of the Super Fast Galicia.

Rowley made the disclosure in response to a question posed to him during a news conference at the Magdalena Grand Beach Resort, following a meeting with Tobago stakeholders on the ferry fiasco involving the Ocean Flower 2 and Cabo Star on Monday.

In fielding questions from the media, Rowley was told by a journalist that since the Galicia’s departure from the sea bridge in April, he had indicated there was a possibility of criminal charges to come out of the award of the contract to the vessel.

Rowley denied saying that and drew to the media’s attention an April 16 T&T Guardian article written by Georges, stating that he preferred to chose his words very carefully.

“What I said was from the documents I have seen, I have good reason to believe that there would have been criminal conduct in those who carried out that Galicia contract. And I passed the matter to the Attorney General to advise me as to whether my view is supported.”

He added: “I will answer by asking you to read the article of Khamal Georges on April 16. What surprised me is the level of boldfacedness that attended the attempt to find a ferry in this year under this Government. And I say no more on that for the moment.”

The Galicia had served the T&T route since 2014, but was pulled by Trasmed after the company failed to secure a long-term lease from the Government and refused to continue on a month-to-month basis.

The lead article, headlined “Hyatt sends $1.3 million damage bill to Govt - Galicia causing quakes,” stated that the vessel had reportedly caused damage to the Hyatt Regency hotel estimated at US$200,000 (TT$1.3m).

Two letters sent by the hotel chain to UDeCOTT and the Port-of-Spain Infrastructure Company between September 2015 and May 2016 lamented the “daily disturbance and interruption” the vessel had caused. It said the “vessel shakes our hotel every time it moves, causing concern to guests as it feels like an earthquake.”

The letters were contained in a pile of documents forwarded to Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi, who had started conducting a probe into whether there may have been any wrong doing in the Galicia deal.

Some of the documents now in the AG’s possession, which GML got hold of, also show that the Galicia was initially deemed unsuitable for the sea bridge.

A two-vehicle accident on the Valencia Stretch on Monday night claimed the life of a four-year-old girl and left another man warded in a critical condition at the Port-of -Spain General Hospital.

Lexie Baptiste, of Matura Village, Matura, succumbed to her injuries while doctors were trying their best to save her at the Sangre Grande Hospital. She was reported to have suffered a fractured skull and other bodily injuries in the accident.

Govindra Akaloo, who was seated in the back right seat of the B15 vehicle the family was travelling in, suffered head, facial and body injuries. The other members of the Baptiste family suffered minor injuries and were treated and discharged.

Police said around 8.30 pm Monday, a Coelho bread truck was heading west along the Valencia Stretch when on reaching near St Alban’s Road it is alleged the vehicles in front the truck slowed down. The truck driver pulled away from the left lane into the right lane and collided with the B15 the Baptistes were in.

Police from Sangre Grande, Valencia, the Fire Service and ambulances responded.

Little Lexie was removed from the car, placed in a police vehicle and rushed to the Sangre Grande District Hospital, where she succumbed to her injuries. The other occupants of the car, which included the child’s mother Joan Mitchell, brothers Nigel and Nicholas and friend Akaloo, were later placed in a Fire Service ambulance and taken to the Sangre Grande Hospital.

RALPH BANWARIE

The deadly house fire which claimed the lives of eight-year-old Alliyah Primus and her aunt Nolene Neisha Gopaul has not yet been ruled as arson, according to police investigators.

A senior police officer told T&T Guardian although it is suspected that the fire was deliberately set at the entrance and exit of the house, investigators are still awaiting the report from the Fire Service to confirm whether it was, in fact, a case of arson. The officer said such a report could take up to three months to be handed over to the police.

A relative of the victims has been afforded police protection since the incident.

She attended the funeral service on August 15 and was guarded by police officers.

Relatives suspect arson because the fire was concentrated on the two doorways, trapping 13 family members, including five children in the house. Some of the people escaped after jumping through the windows. When the fire was extinguished, the charred bodies of Alliyah and Gopaul, huddled together, were found by the kitchen door. Alliyah’s mother Nicole and Gopaul’s 15-year-old daughter were not at home. The fire broke out around 2 am on August 11.

Moruga MP Dr Lovell Francis, posted photos of work being done on the burnt-out house which is directly behind Gopaul’s parents’ home.

He said, “The pictures below show the strength of the Gopaul family. They are already in the process of piecing their lives together after that unimaginable tragedy. As the parliamentary representative, it is my responsibility to assist them and I have been doing that, since the first day...but this family needs to rebuild a home and in that I am asking for any kind of assistance that can be rendered. It will be greatly appreciated.”

Couva South MP Rudranath Indarsingh has accused Rural Development and Local Government Minister Kazim Hosein of only targeting UNC-led corporations for investigation.

His comments came mere hours before Hosein revealed that the Arima Borough Corporation and the San Juan/Laventille Regional Corporation were also being investigated for fraudulent practices.

Indarsingh said Hosein had engaged in a public relations and propaganda campaign by boasting that he was tackling corruption in local government.

However, Indarsingh said that Hosein was only targeting corporations under the control of the UNC in an attempt to “broad-brush” the tenure of the People’s Partnership without any substantial evidence of corruption.

“The minister continues to boast that he is tackling corruption in local government corporations. He seems to take a joy in coming to areas under the control of the UNC to speak about corruption and I would ask him to do likewise when he visits corporations under the control of the People’s National Movement. Investigate whether there are any allegations of corruption within the corporations under the control of the PNM,” Indarsingh said.

Indarsingh did not put much faith in the Hosein’s corruption hunt as he recalled Attorney General Faris Al Rawi’s 2016 revelation in the Parliament that there were “ghost employees” in his Ministry.

“We must never forget in the first budget debate of 2015 in the Parliament, the Attorney General of the country got up and said there were ghost employees existing at the office of the Attorney General. He was in possession of documentation of cashed cheques from employees who were working at the office of the Attorney General. Two years have come and gone, and nobody has been brought before the judicial system of the country.”

The fraud squad is investigating three fraudulent cheques at the Arima Borough Corporation totalling $1.4 million and a stolen cheque at the San Juan/Laventille Regional Corporation. The Ministry has written to relevant bodies requesting that the Fraud Squad be authorised to examine all evidence that they deem pertinent to the investigations.

In a release on Tuesday, Hosein said, “The Mayor of Arima, Lisa Morris-Julian first alerted me to this matter in the Borough. I then notified the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Ms Desdra Bascombe, so that our Accounting Unit could take the necessary actions. While we cannot speak to the details of these ongoing investigations, fraudulent activities in the municipal corporations will not be tolerated and we are relying on the Fraud Squad to gather all information so that the responsible parties can be dealt with accordance with the law.”

Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro said he intends to write a letter to United States President Donald Trump in order to ensure that a peaceful relationship between the two countries is maintained.

Maduro, however, lauded Venezuela’s military prowess saying the country now has the “most modern weapons” if it needed to defend itself.

Venezuela and the United States have been at loggerheads in recent time after Trump stated that he was considering a “military option” in light of the current crisis taking place in T&T’s closest neighbour.

Maduro has also been listed as a “dictator,” United States Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin also stated last month.

On Tuesday Maduro held a press conference with international media which he said was aimed at trying to get the truth about Venezuela out to the world.

The T&T Guardian newspaper was at the press conference which was held locally at the Venezuelan Embassy in Port-of-Spain.

The local arm of the press conference was hosted by Venezuelan Ambassador Coromoto Godoy Calderon and attended by a dozen people including Movement for Social Justice leader David Abdulah and president general of the Banking, Insurance and General Workers Union Vincent Cabrera.

“Trump does not want to speak to me on the phone but I want to speak to Trump. I want to speak to him. The only way to reach any understanding is to talk,” Maduro stated.

Maduro said the diplomatic relationship with the United States is currently at its “worst moment” and for the sake of the future of the relationship, he needed to speak to Trump.

“I am going to send a letter to Trump very shortly and I’m sure when he reads it many things would change for the better and relations with the United States will change for the better and we can save ourselves a lot of tension and conflict and problems that will only do damage to both of our countries and both of our people,” Maduro said.

Maduro said instead of “winding up another intense conflict” he intends to de-escalate the situation.

“People are saying that I am afraid, I am backtracking. Some say talking about dialogue and agreement are a sign of weakness. No, you have to be valiant to have dialogue, to talk with your opponents and speak of peace in the face of talk of war,” he said.

Maduro defended the recent elections held in Venezuela and said even if Trump was to invade the country its presidential elections will go ahead as planned next year.

“The Constituent Assembly is a guarantee that the Bolivar revolution continues on a democratic path because if there was not a Constituent Assembly we may have been forced to take another route, they might have forced us to take arms to defend ourselves,” he said.

Maduro said he hopes to be in the United States capital Washington soon.

He already has plans of visiting Russia though.

Maduro said “fake news” around the world about what is taking place in Venezuela has been “sowing hate.”

He said he intends to “counter that with the truth.”

Tuesday’s press conference was one step in achieving that, he said.

Maduro described Russia’s President Vladimir Putin as the “main leader of the world” as he said the first shipment of wheat from Russia is expected to arrive this week.

“With Russia, we will continue to strengthen our ties. Russia is a very powerful country,” Maduro said.

“Just in time the best weapon system arrived in Venezuela so now we have the most modern weapons. I don’t think any other country in Latin America has the type of weapons system that we have the different artillery, rifles, missile to air systems so Venezuela together with Russia has created a system to defend ourselves,” he said.

“Hopefully our defence will continue to be the word and that we don’t have to defend our land with arms,” Maduro said.

Police said a parked car saved at least eight children who were in the firing line of gunmen shooting with automatic firearms at Embacadere on Monday night.

Winston Richards, 39, and Dwight Weekes, 20, were just two of five people shot in San Fernando on that night.

The men escaped with only gunshot injuries to their legs when two gunmen indiscriminately opened fire at the apartment complex.

A report stated that around 9 pm, Richards and Weekes were sitting outside an apartment in Block One while several other residents mingled nearby. The gunmen approached the building and opened fire, sending everyone scampering for cover. Richards, who suffers from diabetes, was shot in both legs while Weekes was shot in the right leg. Both men were taken to the San Fernando General Hospital where they remained warded in the stable condition yesterday.

Investigators were told that another man was grazed by a bullet, but he did not report it to the police. When a party of officers, including Insp Don Gajadhar, Insp Ganga, Cpl Khan and PC Andre arrived at the scene, they found six gunshot holes in the car. While no clear motive was established for the shooting, the residents have been uneasy since the release of a man who was arrested for gun-related charges last year.

Police are also investigating the shooting of La Romaine mechanic Sheldon Mc Cain. A report stated that Mc Cain, 39, had just left his workplace in San Fernando around 7.30 pm. As he waited for transportation along Dixon Street, a gunman wearing a hoodie walked up and shot him in the groin area.

Police were contacted and Mc Cain was taken to hospital where he remains warded in a serious condition. Investigators recovered six bullet casings at the scene.

In the third incident, Ajala Donaldson, 32, was downstairs his house in Pleasantville around 11.30 pm, when a gunman walked into his yard. The gunman fired a shot, with the bullet grazing him on his neck. The gunman then took his gold chain valued at $10,000.

The T&T Incoming Tour Operators Association (TTITOA) yesterday praised Agriculture Minister Clarence Rambharat on moves to increase the fine for poaching the national bird, the Scarlet Ibis, from $1,000 to $100,000.

The commendation came from the association’s PRO Suzan Mohammed, who stated for the past 15 years operators who have been direct contact in showcasing the Caroni Wetlands to locals, visitors and tourists have been complaining of poachers having a massive appetite for the Scarlet Ibis, which fell on deaf ears.

Mohammed, in a press release, said in the last five years poaching had sky-rocketed at the Caroni Bird Sanctuary to a point where the birds’ population started to significantly dwindle, while visitors and tourists often expressed concern for their safety when they heard gunshots from poachers.

In a Facebook post on Tuesday, Rambharat said he was happy that the Environmental Management Authority (EMA) had agreed to give priority to his request for the Scarlet Ibis to be declared as an Environmentally Sensitive Species under the Environmentally Sensitive Species Rules.

Rambharat also asked that the sanctuary be declared an Environmentally Sensitive Areas in accordance with Environmentally Sensitive Area rules, while the fine for poaching the Scarlet Ibis would be $100,000 with the possibility of up to two years imprisonment.

“The new fines and possibly a two-year imprisonment term should send a strong message to all poachers that they will not go unscathed if caught harming and killing these birds,” Mohammed said in a brief telephone interview.

“We want to commend Rambharat for the measures taken. At least a government minister saw the need to save and protect these birds while at the same time let the public know that they will now face consequences when they break the law. We are one of the key stakeholders under the Ministry of Tourism and this has been affecting the sector to a great deal. Recently, the Caroni Swamp was featured in the New York Times highlighting the sanctuary as one of the top ten nature sites in the world,” Mohammed said.

Mohammed said tourism was a million dollar revenue earner for the country.

“TTITOA is a key stakeholders association in T&T’s tourism industry and we see this to be a very critical issue in our sector. We can be sustainable with tourism if we really get serious and clamp down on all poachers. People from all over the world come here to see our fauna and flora. We have a lot to offer.”

Mohammed said while the new measures are a step in the right direction, Government has to establish a public awareness programme to protect all the environmental areas in T&T.

Former flight attendant Vinosh Maraj was yesterday fined $55,000 for trying to smuggle close to US$40,000 into the country.

Maraj, 32, of Morang Village, St Augustine, was ordered to pay the fine in one month or be sent to jail, by Magistrate Gloria Jasmath in the Arima Magistrates Court.

He had pleaded guilty to three charges stemming from the incident at the Piarco International Airport.

On the charge of bringing in restricted goods, he was fined $25,000 of in default three years hard labour. For making a false declaration he was fined $15,000 or 18 months in jail and on the charge of packaging to deceive a Customs officer he was also fined $15,000 or 18 months in jail.

The magistrate ordered that the US currency is deposited in the Treasury after the senior attorney for the Customs and Excise Divison Harricharan Kassie said the money had to be forfeited to the State.

Maraj, who had been employed with Caribbean Airlines for five years, had been in custody for a week as he was unable to secure bail.

According to the State’s case, on August 13, Maraj arrived on a CAL flight from New York. He had a 65-inch television set among his items to declare. When asked by customs officer Nicolas Joseph what else he had to declare, Maraj said he had a bottle of alcohol in his tote bag and a CAL standard operating procedure manual.

Upon searching the manual, the officer found US $36,000.

An additional US$3,054 was found in his possession.

His lawyers, Reynold Waldropt and Jeron Joseph, had argued for a non-custodial sentence citing his previous good character.

Less than 12 hours after moving into his new home, CEPEP labourer Parmanand Basdeo was shot dead while riding his bicycle to work.

Basdeo, 61, a father of two, was killed within 100 metres of his Kanhai Road North, Barrackpore home.

Neighbours heard him and his attacker arguing moments before two gunshots rang out.

It was still dark around 5.30 am when Basdeo left home to meet his work crew along GP Road when he came face to face with his killer.

Investigators said after he was shot, the gunman stood over him and fired another shot to ensure he was dead. While a motive was not yet known, they suspected that it was a hit. The gunman was then seen walking south along the road but no one could describe him.

Police, including Insp Gajadhar, Insp Sookdeo, Sgt Ramlogan, Cpl Bridgemohan and woman Cpl Mohammed responded and a search for the gunman was carried out. Up to yesterday evening, no one was held.

An autopsy by forensic pathologist Dr Valery Alexandrov showed that Basdeo was shot from a distance with one bullet grazing his ear and the other piercing his right eye. He was then shot again in the head.

Surrounded by family and friends yesterday, his common-law wife Ramkuwarie Singh said by the time she reached, Basdeo was already dead. She said they had just moved into the house on Tuesday and had not finished unpacking.

She told the T&T Guardian that they owned no land or owed anyone money, nor had anyone threatened their lives. She recalled, “I got up this morning, cooked for him, packed his bag and I went to walk him by the gate.”

He took the bicycle and rode up the road to work. He had to reach the other junction but he never did. I just heard a gunshot but I was not sure. I wasn’t thinking that anything happened to him because I had already reached up the hill.”

Just Sunday, another resident of the area, Carlos Samuel, was gunned down outside the Public Transport Service Corporation (PTSC) garage in San Fernando. However, Singh said they did not know Sammy.

The woman who was knocked down and killed Monday morning crossing the Eastern Main Road, Champs Fleurs, has been identified as Cheryl John.

John’s body was identified by her son-in-law at the Maloney Police Station on Monday. The man, a police officer, saw a photograph of his mother-in-law and was able to confirm her identity.

According to John’s estranged husband, Wilfred Arrendell, the mother of six was supposed to report to work on Monday morning but calls to her phone went unanswered.

Relatives went to the St Joseph Police Station and were told that there was an accident in the area, but the family was unable to view the body as the mortuary department at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex was already closed.

John, a geriatric nurse, had celebrated her 54th birthday on Sunday. Arrendell said John was a private woman who did not have a grand celebration for her birthday.

John was knocked down around 6.30 am, police said. The driver was heading west along the road when he collided with John. The driver was questioned and later released.

A report said around 7 am, the victim was attempting to cross the Eastern Main Road when the driver collided with John.

Eyewitnesses said the victim was thrown several feet in the air. She died on the spot.

In an interview, Police Constable Brent Batson, coordinator of the police road safety project, said the woman’s death was the 71st for the year compared with 83 road fatalities last year.

“Altogether we have seen a reduction in road deaths compared to 2016. The TTPS continues to express great concern with the reckless driving displayed on the road. Even with the number of traffic tickets issued by officers some drivers are engaging in very dangerous practices that have resulted in preventable tragedies,” he said.

Batson said in the past three days there were three road deaths which included Ryun Crawford, 18, who was driving a Mercedes Benz sedan, considered one of the safest car in the world. In the case of the four-year-old child killed in Monday’s Valencia Stretch crash, initial reports suggest the victim, Lexie Baptiste, was not in a child safety seat.

Two soldiers, accused of fleecing almost $1.5 million from the Defence Force in a payroll scam, are moving to have the State’s lawsuit seeking to recoup the funds struck out.

Lawyers representing the Lance Corporal and Private signalled their intention during a hearing of an injunction freezing their clients’ assets pending the determination of the case, at the Port-of-Spain High Court yesterday.

In their substantive application, the soldiers are claiming that the AG’s office failed to comply with the court’s practice directions as it did not send a pre-action protocol letter before seeking the injunction and filing the lawsuit.

A member of Island Hikers yesterday responded to criticism following the death of Richard Baird during a trek to the Hollis Waterfalls in Aripo.

In a telephone interview with CNC3 yesterday, the member of Island Hikers, Michael Charlarie, said Baird may have slipped off a precipice after taking a short break during the return journey and hit his head on a boulder.

Charlarie was part of the team of members of protective services, villagers and members of the public who assisted in removing Baird’s decomposing body from the Aripo forest between Tuesday and yesterday.

CNC3 News showed dramatic footage of the National Operations Centre helicopter hovering in the forest as crime scene investigators loaded the body on the aircraft.

The Island Hiker member said that judging from what he saw on the scene, Baird survived the initial fall.

“The first drop was not that high. From the evidence I saw he got back up and started to move for approximately 100 metres,” Charlarie said.

He suggested Baird was possibly disoriented from the fall and appeared to have fallen off an even stepper precipice, where his body was found.

Asked how the other members of the hiking group only realised that Baird was missing until after they completed the mission, Charlarie said the 60 hikers were split into groups some of which may have passed him without realising it.

“He was in the middle of the pack. There were people much slower than him,” he said as he explained that those in front would have thought he would have caught up with them and those behind would not have known that he had stopped if he had fallen before they passed.

Charlarie described 55-year-old Baird, an IT specialist with Petrotrin, as an experienced hiker.

“He was with us before and he was pretty good,” Charlarie said.

While he admitted that the organisation would consider additional safety protocols and procedures on their next trip, he also pointed out that hiking had its inherent dangers.

“I am sure the people who are interested in safety do not participate in such activities. There are risks on hikes, even in simple activities people die,” Charlarie said as he pointed out the fact that two people drowned in family outings to Blanchisseuse, last weekend.

Police were forced to abandon their removal plans for Baird’s body after it was discovered by a resident on Tuesday, as the helicopter was unable to land in the dense forest.

The helicopter was used to ferry villagers to the site on Tuesday and they assisted police in clearing site for the aircraft to get close to the ground.

Even with the assistance, the helicopter was unable to land at the site due to the steep hillside and had to hover inches from the slope as the body was loaded.

The body was transported to the T&T Regiment’s Camp Cumuto base and then taken to the Forensic Science Centre in St James where the autopsy is expected today.

Two months after being released from prison on firearm-related charges, San Fernando labourer Darryl Vincent was gunned down while relaxing at his home on Tuesday night.

Vincent, 49, of Phase II, Ridgewood Gardens, Golconda had a long criminal record, including convictions for gun and drug possession.

In 2014 when police stopped him during a breathalyser exercise, he lied about being a driver for former attorney general Anand Ramlogan. He was fined $4,500 for failing to give a breath specimen and for resisting arrest. In 2003, he was acquitted of the 1997 murder of 61-year-old Rio Claro businessman Raffick “Mickey” Kabul.

According to reports, Vincent was sitting on a couch on the front porch of his home, eating a pack of peanuts. Witnesses reported hearing loud explosions around 9.48 pm and saw a vehicle speeding off.

Southern Division police, including ASP Neptune, Insp Don Gajadhar, Insp Sookdeo, Cpl Williams, woman Cpl Mohammed and PC Rambhajan responded and found Vincent slumped on the couch.

Despite police setting up a dragnet for the suspects, no one was held up to late yesterday.

An autopsy by forensic pathologist Dr Valery Alexandrov revealed that Vincent was shot nine times, possibly by two suspects. Alexandrov said he recovered copper jacketed and solid lead jacketed bullets from the body.

However, he said that Vincent was standing when the gunmen shot him. He attempted to block the gunshots and suffered three gunshot wounds to his left hand.

The location of the other wounds suggested that he was able to turn around and run but then suffered a fatal shot to the back. He fell on the couch and died.

Handyman killed at Claxton Bay

A Claxton Bay handyman was found murdered in the old train line community yesterday.

Premchand Anand, 60, also known as “Burroughs”, was discovered on the roadway by residents after several gunshots were heard. By the time Couva police arrived on the scene, Anand, who was bare-chested at the time, was already dead. Investigators said he did odd jobs in the community and lived along a river bank.

No one was held for his murder up to yesterday. An autopsy is expected to be done today at the Forensic Science Centre.

Banker Robert Le Hunte will today be appointed Minister of Public Utilities.

His appointment will in effect reduce the workload Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley, who had assumed the portfolio in June after Fitzgerald Hinds was reassigned as Minister in the Ministry of the Attorney General and Legal Affairs.

Le Hunte will take the oath of office at a ceremony at the Office of the President in St Ann’s today.

According to a press release from the Office of The Prime Minister Le Hunte, a career banker, who last held the position as managing director of HFC Bank Ghana Ltd, will be tasked with the responsibility and business of government including administration of the department under that ministry.

Le Hunte will also replace Walede Michael Coppin in the Senate. The incoming minister is a graduate of Economics of the University of Western Ontario, Canada. He holds an MBA from the University of Manchester, UK and an MSc in Accounting from the University of West Indies.

He was an Executive Director at HFC Bank Ghana Ltd since April 2013 and its Executive Director of Risk Management until April 2015. He was also Managing Director from April 2015 up until Monday.

According to the release, Le Hunte is a former General Manager of Special Projects of Republic Bank Ltd and Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Barbados National Bank Inc. He has held the position of Chief Executive Officer of Barbados National Bank and served as Director at Barbados National Bank Inc & subsidiaries. He also functioned as a Director of National Enterprises Limited from June 1, 2012, to November 2013.

He is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Trinidad and Tobago.

Yesterday’s sailing of the controversial Cabo Star cargo vessel from Port-of-Spain to Scarborough was delayed by almost two hours due to a mechanical problem.

It was the second day running that passengers on the sea bridge had experience problems with the service. On Tuesday, the T&T Express experienced mechanical problems and left the Scarborough Port for Port-of-Spain several hours late.

In a telephone interview yesterday afternoon, public relations officer of the T&T Inter-island Transportation Company, Vilma Lewis-Cockburn, explained that the issue with the Cabo Star was rectified and the ferry eventually left Trinidad around 2.10 pm instead of its scheduled time of 12.30 pm.

The delay caused a massive back-up of commercial vehicles along Wrightson Road, Port-of-Spain, for most of yesterday morning, as truck drivers transporting items ranging from construction material to frozen food had arrived in Port-of-Spain well before the scheduled boarding time of 9.30 am.

“This is madness. They ain’t care about us,” one driver who spent over five hours waiting to board said before eventually being allowed into the ferry terminal at Dock Road.

The drivers said they were severely hampered by the delay, as many of them would have to quickly offload their trucks upon reaching Tobago in order to make the return journey.

Many of the drivers said they did not like the leased vessel and preferred its predecessor, the Super Fast Galicia.

“It was bigger and more comfortable. It was a much better ship,” one of the drivers said.

“Since this ship come it has been late almost everyday,” another claimed.

The Super Fast Galicia ended its service of the inter-island sea bridge earlier this year after the Government refused to grant its owners, Inter-continental Shipping Company Limited, a long term lease. The vessel had been operating on a month to month basis since its original lease with the Government expired in April last year.

The absence of an alternative vessel forced the Government to find replacement vessels with two—the Cabo Star and Ocean Flower II—being sourced from Canadian firm Bridgemans Service Group. The Ocean Flower II’s contract was eventually cancelled after the vessel failed to arrive by its extended deadline of August 1.

The procurement of the vessels have been shrouded in controversy, with Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley this week admitting something was not right about the Ocean Flower deal in particular.

Last Tuesday, Rowley appointed business magnate Christian Mouttet to investigate the debacle and provide a report within a month’s time.

Tobago House of Assembly (THA) Minority Leader Watson Duke intends to make good on his promise to swim from Tobago to Trinidad in protest against the unreliable inter-island ferry service, as well as the deficiencies in the procurement process for the Ocean Flower 2 cargo vessel.

During a news conference in Tobago yesterday, Duke said the swim is scheduled for Monday and will start at the Scarborough Fishing Facility. He said he was fed up with the sea bridge dilemma and is ready to take action if nothing is done to rectify the issues affecting Tobagonians.

He said from 8 am Monday the Minority Council and some of the fishing folk will be staging the swim protest from Tobago to Toco.

“We are not sure exactly where we will reach in so far as Toco, Sans Souci, Port-of-Spain, wherever we reach, whether it be North Coast. By whatever means is necessary, we will take it by that means, but we will commence by swimming,” he said

Duke said he was aware of the risks involved but said he is prepared to risk his life for the betterment of the island by giving a voice to all those being affected by the sea bridge woes.

“We are doing this understanding the peril out there, understanding that the water is mixed and the currents are heavy, that there are different types of fish out there that could be dangerous, understanding that it may be the very last time we come back on this side,” he said.

“We are talking about the granny who is trying to sell bunch of fig, the school child trying to attend school in Trinidad and just the father who is trying to get his glasses repair in Trinidad. All of these persons have been seriously affected. We have tried every single thing to raise this issue on the national agenda. We have definitely tried to place it there and keep it there, unsuccessfully, we have gotten a lot of talk and no action.”

The distance in the nearest points between Trinidad and Tobago is approximately 25 miles, with some describing the conditions as brutal, but Duke said the swim will be a relay with all the necessary precautions being taken to reduce any risk.

“We will have life vests, Coast Guard, fishermen around us, rescue team, doctors, nurses, but we are doing it for Tobago. We were elected to represent Tobago and we intend to live out our days as representatives to represent Tobago and represent the core beliefs of Tobago,” he said.

However, certified rescue diver Dave Elliott yesterday told the T&T Guardian that the decision by Duke and his team did not make any sense.

He said while the swim from Tobago to Trinidad was possible, it would be a disastrous task for an average individual to undertake.

“It is not physically possible to do that for an untrained person. You need to be properly trained to do those things,” he said.

“You can black out in the water. There are so much things to consider, even the wet suit you wear will determine your outcome. When you are dealing with the sea there’s a combination of different things, winds, tides, currents and waves, those things determine your speed and distance.”

He said the distance and deepness and temperature of the water were key things to consider, but the fact that many of them are untrained swimmers was even bigger.

“There’s also the risk that the wake from a ship could affect a swimmer in the water because it’s a shipping lane. Apart from other threats, an untrained swimmer is at risk of experiencing fatigue, dehydration and hypothermia can also set in.

“Honestly, I do not see them swimming past Rockley Bay (Lambeau). Surprisingly, sharks are the least of their problems,” he said.

The time consuming task of having to read 444 charges of fraud, money laundering and larceny against a policeman’s wife yesterday caused the Princes Town Magistrates’ Court to sit late into the night.

Princes Town Magistrate Indira Misir-Gosine eventually completed reading the charges to Tinisha Gosine-Ramdass around 8.05 pm in the First Court.

Almost half way into reading the charges Misir-Gosine, who started reading the charges around 1.15 pm, had put everyone on notice that they could be there until 8 pm.

The charges, which are the most ever to be laid by the Fraud Squad against one person, included over 100 of money laundering, over 100 of falsifying a document and over 150 of larceny servant in the sum of $2.8 million. She is also jointly charged with her husband, Insp Darryl Ramdass, on nine charges of being in possession of protected birds. The charges were laid by Sgt Samuel.

Misir-Gosine eventually granted Gosine-Ramdass $150,000 bail on the fraud charges and $25,000 bail on the wildlife charges and adjourned the matter to September 20.

Gosine-Ramdass, of Princes Town, first appeared before Justice of the Peace Ackbar Khan on Tuesday and was remanded to appear yesterday before a Princes Town magistrate.

It is alleged that Gosine-Ramdass committed the offenses during 2011 and 2014, while she was employed as a clerk at A-Tech Products and Services Ltd in Princes Town. She was arrested following the arrest of her husband at the Piarco International Airport last Thursday.

Ramdass, 46, was attached to the Organised Crime and Narcotics Bureau based at the Piarco International Airport. Ramdass appeared in the Port-of-Spain Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday charged with being in possession of five macaws, two toucans and two parrots without having the relevant permits. Ramdass, however, was allowed to continue on the bail he was granted at the police station and the matter was transferred to the Princes Town court. Ramdass, whose matter is scheduled for September 4, was in court supporting his wife yesterday.

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A 26-year-old from Tobago was shot and killed at Pine Avenue, North Eastern Settlement, Sangre Grande on Wednesday.

The victim, identified as John Dove, 26, of Lambeau Village, died on the spot after being shot once in his back by an unknown gunman.

Police reported that around 4 pm, on Wednesday they received a report about a man lying on side of Pine Avenue Road believed to be dead.

Police officers led by ASP Revanales, Sgts Harper, Ramkissoon and officers from CID and Task Force of Sangre Grande Police responded. They were later joined by Insp Christopher Fuentes, Cpl Jones and Pc Sutherland of Homicide Bureau Arouca, Region 11.

The police cordoned off the area to allow homicide officers to carry out their crime scene process.

Deandra Dove, the sister of the dead man, later identified the victim.

Insp Christopher Fuentes of Homicide Bureau, Region 11, Arouca, is continuing with the investigation.

RALPH BANWARIE