Dramatic arrest outside court
MINUTES after a 26-year-old Londoner left the Port-of-Spain Magistrates’ Court where he appeared on a charge of possession of two offensive weapons, he was rearrested on the steps of the courthouse by Port-of-Spain Criminal Investigations Department (CID) officers for further investigations to be carried out by Scotland Yard officials, who are expected in the country later this week. Omar Mohammed, a Londoner who has been in Trinidad for the past two months, appeared before Magistrate Halcian Yorke-Young in the Third Magistrates’ Court, where the charge of possession of two offensive weapons, namely two knives, was read to him. The charge, which was laid indictably, stated that the accused man was held last Thursday at the Crown Point International Airport, Tobago, where the items were found concealed in his luggage. Mohammed, who according to reports, was about to board a flight to London from Crown Point, was subsequently charged for the offence by Sgt Euseph Alexander and then brought to Trinidad for additional questioning. Appearing for the State was Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Geoffrey Henderson, who immediately asked that Yorke-Young revoke bail which was granted to the accused on Sunday night. The DPP explained it was a matter of national security that Mohammed be properly traced. Henderson submitted to Yorke-Young that investigating police officers had not yet been able to properly determine if Mohammed had any antecedents and, as a result, needed time in which they could officially conclude that part of the investigation. "It appears as though bail was granted by a Justice of the Peace without the investigating officers sufficiently finding out whether the accused has any antecedents. The prosecution is inviting you to revisit the bail which was granted to the accused so that the authorities can trace the accused. Because there is a time difference between Trinidad and the United Kingdom, I am asking for one day," applied Henderson. Mohammed’s attorney Sophia Chote expressed great surprise on hearing the DPP’s application, and told Yorke-Young there had been sufficient time for police to trace her client. Chote said Mohammed had been in custody since last week Thursday and had been more than cooperative with police officers who had fingerprinted him three times already. The attorney submitted to Yorke-Young that it was hard enough for her client already, having had to go through hardships at the hands of police officers who neglected to ensure that his basic amenities were met.
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"Dramatic arrest outside court"