Customs Officers under probe

On Tuesday, between 6 pm and 10 pm, over 25 officers from the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of the TT Police Service led by Sgt Marcelle and Customs and Excise officer Murray went to the Santa Cruz home of a 36-year-old contractor and carried out a four-hour long search. Although the businessman was not present his relatives were told the police and Customs are probing the use of false documents to clear containers. The businessman’s name is on the false documents.

Well placed sources reveal that during the high profile investigation which began on Sunday customs and excise discovered a quantity of duplicate bogus documents which were used to clear containers during a period of time. This led to four searches thus far. Investigators believe that they may be able to make a major breakthrough in this investigation shortly.

Last Friday, officers went to the Port in Pt Lisas where a freight container was identified. Officers searched the container which was found to contain a quantity of plywood, some bogus documents and they also found two blue crocus bags containing over the US cash which is believed to have originated from the US Virgin Isles.