The Trinidad and Tobago Police Service has refuted a media report published in the Trinidad Express,  which lay claims that  individuals have received legal firearms whilst under investigation for being in possession of illegal firearms and acquired legal firearms without a Certificate of Character.  

In a statement on Sunday, the TTPS said out of an abundance of caution it thoroughly researched the matter which it said yielded the following findings:

-The file in question was recommended by an investigator in the Division, it appears the investigator used the Certificate of Character attached to the file which showed no convictions.

-The applicant was therefore recommended by the investigator.

-After the investigation was completed and while the file was making its way through the process, it was determined that the said individual had been charged for a criminal offence.

-This was then noted on the file and the file returned to the firearm section.

The TTPS said it is “precisely because of the checks and balances built into the system that this license was not given.”

It noted that both Compliance Unit and the Senior Superintendent picked up on the situation and the application was immediately stopped. As such no provisional permit or Firearm license was ever issued.