National Security Minister, Fitzgerald Hinds, confirmed that an investigation has been launched into the disappearance of more than 25,000 rounds of 5.56 ammunition from the Trinidad and Tobago Regiment, the main ground force element of the Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force.
Media reports said the 25,753 rounds of ammunition had gone missing from the 1st Engineer Battalion Bunker at the Cumuto Barracks when the ammunition was relocated in 2022.
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“Taking note of the concern that such a story would naturally raise…I requested that a thorough investigation of this matter be conducted, and I have had some preliminary reports [and] not yet in a position to comment publicly upon them,” Hinds said.
He said that the investigation will determine “the extent to which it might be established as true or if there are elements of it …that are untrue, or if there are elements of it that require some deep consideration on the part of national security.
“I am aware of it and the matter I assure you will be looked into and if there is a need for resolution… [it would be done] as quickly as possible,” Hinds said.
The Trinidad Express newspaper reported Monday that a three-man team has been appointed to investigate after it had reported over the weekend that the ammunition had been discovered missing earlier this month during a physical examination at the Cumuto Barracks.
The ammunition was removed from the Cumuto Barracks bunker and relocated to a nearby structure within the Barracks compound in 2022.
The newspaper said that in a February 13 special order, Colonel Keston Charles, commanding officer of the Trinidad and Tobago Regiment, issued the special orders for the regimental inquiry, and the investigating team has been instructed to assemble and begin the probe on Monday. (CMC)
