According to reports, Customs officers were yesterday conducting routine checks at the port, when they noticed a particular barrel had an unusually large amount of alcohol in it. When the customs officers checked further they made the discovery.

Police were immediately alerted and Port of Spain Division officers responded.

The money was handed over to the police who placed the cash in a steel vault.

While police are still trying to find out who may have brought the cash into the country, investigators believe the barrel may have originated from either Miami or New York.

Last week, firearms including the AR-15 Assault Rifle and ammunition were found in barrels at a bond warehouse in El Socorro.

Investigations are ongoing.

According to reports, at about 10 am on Saturday, officers led by Senior Superintendent Macdonald Jacob and ASP Mervyn Edwards along with Sgt Grant, Debier and others, cordoned off the Maloney Housing Estate and detained the 21-year-old and seized a .45 Colt Beretta which was found on him.

Police told Newsday yesterday they have reason to believe the gun seized may have been used in the shooting of the brother and sister on Friday night. The same team of officers also seized another pistol during the exercise but no one was held in connection with that seizure.

On Friday, at about 9.05 pm, the siblings were at Building Seven in the company of their mother Leander Alexander, on a stairwell of the apartment complex, when Liam was shot in the left hand and Laell on her right hand.

Police believe the shooter was firing at a rival gang member and the brother and sister were caught in the corssfire.

Yesterday, the siblings remained warded at thre Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex and were listed as being in stable condition.

Speaking yesterday at a Caribbean Fraud conference at the Radisson Hotel in Port-of-Spain. He said Government views an anti-fraud package of legislation is an ode to common sense and the “Al Capone approach”, adding that Capone did not go down for murder but for tax evasion. The package of legislation includes civil asset forfeiture if you cannot explain your wealth to a court of law you will lose it .

“That means the unemployed person with 25 gold chains, two BMWs, Facebook images, who is 28 and living in the lap of luxury but who can’t account for an hour’s work during the day, will get a knock on the door from the authorities. They will say, ‘dear sir I noticed you have a large mansion .

Could you please provide evidence as to how you acquired it. Please don’t give it to me, give it to a court please’,” Al-Rawi said .

He said that under the proceeds of crime legislation, $250,000 can be seized but only after conviction which could take 17 years .

He said this package of legislation will include a completely renovated system for land registration that features making not registering a deed a criminal offence, subject to jail and penalty .

He said that currently, the late registration of a deed has a fine of $2,500 so you can unwind a trust 20 years later, “and I get away scot free.” He said all documentation must be registered and elimination of the ability to unwind a trust .

“The allegations of people who have properties in their names just got crushed because if they don’t disclose it, it’s gone.” He said the package of Anti- Fraud legislation will be laid in September .

He called on people to think what it would be like if people are held accountable for their actions and you do not have to “grease a hand” to get things done. Global Forensic Institute Director Jerome Chambers in his opening comments reported the statistic that five per cent of all revenue is lost due to fraud as on average it takes 18 months before the fraud is discovered .

Al-Rawi in his address said the real problem is the distance between allegations of fraud and criminality and conviction is “impossibly large.” “The root cause of criminality in our country is fraud.” On the five per cent statistic he reported that roughly 10,000 cars are licensed per month – the series of plates. He said there is an allegation that officials at Licencing Authority asked citizens to pay $500 to accelerate licensing of cars .

“And that’s a small request right? Most people in buying a $200,000 car, a $100,000 car, some people a million dollar car what’s $500? Take $500 multiply by 10,000 multiply by 12 and somebody in the Licensing Authority has a $60 million enterprise based on fraud.” He added: “Small change equals big corruption.” He said they would be renovating licensing authority and introduce Radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags for vehicles .

In his substantive claim, Singh said because of the discriminatory practices at his workplace, he has missed numerous opportunities to act as in a higher position because his degree in Resource, Recreation and Tourism was not recognised and did not constitute a Bachelor of Science in Forestry.

He said in April 2015, his complaint was acknowledged by Ombudsman Lynette Stevenson, SC, and he was promised a response but never received one and this prompted him to file the FOIA request. Singh said he was informed by the Ombudsman that her office was not a public authority subject to the FOIA.

He filed a judicial review claim in May 2016 which was dismissed by Justice Andre des Vignes in March of this year.

Singh appealed and the judge’s ruling was reversed by a majority decision in the appeal court. Singh’s attorney, former attorney general Anand Ramlogan argued before Justices of Appeal Allan Mendonca, Nolan Bereaux and Peter Rajkumar that the Office of the Ombudsman was set up by the Constitution and financed by tax payers with public funds. He said the Office of the Ombudsman had an important rule and function as it provided an avenue for the average citizen to seek redress for injustice caused by faults in public administration.

He said the law provided that elected Members of Parliament could refer aggrieved constituents to the Ombudsman for assistance and the issue of whether the Ombudsman was governed by the FOIA was an important issue that should be determined in the public interest.

In their majority ruling, delivered by Justice Rajkumar, the court agreed that it was one of public interest and reversed the order of the high court, granting permission to Singh to pursue his judicial review claim. Also appearing for Singh were attorneys Jayanti Lutchmedial, Douglas Bayley instructed by Alana Rambaran.

The Ombudsman was represented by Elton Prescott,SC, and Rikki Harnanan.

The story revolves around characters Frank and Boxo who have been enemies for decades owing to an old misunderstanding over a woman. When they die without resolving the issue and meet outside the Pearly Gates, they are forced to return to earth to perform a good deed to absolve their bad behaviour. They must help Ella, a young, Carnival designer struggling to make ends meet for the sake of her special-needs daughter Jada. Framed in the chaos of Carnival and the rum shop humour of TT , their story is one of brotherly love – lost and found.

A scene from the film was first performed as a stage play at the New Play Festival at the Trinidad Theatre Workshop in 2016. This expanded version is Dumas’ first full-length narrative comedy screenplay, said a media release.

Dumas is also a performer, writer, teacher and arts development consultant.

Her films include the documentary Julia and Joyce: Two Stories of Two Dance Pioneers, the African Movie Academy award-nominated Tickle Me Rich and the experimental dance film Agua Water L’Eau. She has been featured on BBC Outlook for her work in dance and was described in 2016 as a Caribbean pioneer by the Huffington Post.

Dumas will also lead the discussion of this month’s theme which is on Rewriting.

The PWT, which aims to foster the development of original storytelling through drama and playmaking, reads new stage plays and screenplays by TT playwrights and screenwriters on the first Wednesday of every month.

The workshop begins at 7pm at Jerningham Avenue and Norfolk Street, Belmont.

For more info: 351-6293 or Playwrights Workshop Trinbago on Facebook.

Pierre, 35, and 17-year-old Jabari Ettienne were gunned down while playing a card game with others men. An autopsy done yesterday confirmed that Pierre died from a gunshot wound to the chest. His relatives said Pierre was not the intended target as he was left with a quantity of cash on his person.

He was described as a person who loved to gamble. “He loved playing cards…He liked football and thing, yes, but he liked playing cards more than anything else,” said brother Wendell.

Newsday understands that Pierre and Ettienne were among four people playing cards at the liming spot in Phase 2, when masked gunmen ran up to the group and began shooting. Pierre was shot and slumped to the ground. Ettienne managed to run out of the liming spot and began running toward his home.

The gunmen gave chase and shot Ettienne multiple times mere steps away from his home.

As the gunmen fled the scene, Ettienne’s relatives grabbed him up and rushed him to the San Fernando General Hospital, however he succumbed to his injuries. Pierre was also taken to hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

Dead is PC Shaquille Mondesir, who was sworn in as a policeman in 2015. Another officer, PC Dayne Horsford, who was also in the car, survived the crash and is in a stable condition at hospital.

Newsday understands, at about 12.15 am yesterday, Mondesir, who recently became a father, and Horsford were travelling along the Churchill Roosevelt Highway, after attending a wedding.

As they neared Lifestyle Motors, El Socorro, their car __ a black Nissan Tiida __ skidded off the road and collided with a culvert.

Newsday understands Mondesir was flung from the car as it flipped several times, and his body landed in a nearby drain.

Both Mondesir and Horsford were taken to the Port of Spain General Hospital, but Mondesir did not survive the night.

Horsford, who suffered from injuries to the back and neck along with internal bleeding, was taken to emergency surgery and stabilised.

Newsday understands that he is now resting comfortably and speaking to relatives.

Horsford’s relatives told Newsday yesterday that as soon as he woke up, he began asking for his comrade-in-arms.

“He kept on asking ‘where’s Shaquille?’, but we could not tell him.

Doctors told us that we should wait until he recovers a bit more to tell him the news.

They believe he (Horsford) is not in a condition to be told that Mondesir is dead,” said one relative who did not want to be identified.

Horsford’s relatives told Newsday that while they are thankful to the Almighty that he is in a stable condition and recovering, they still feel shock, and extend condolences to Mondesir’s family, as the two policemen were friends for years.

“He (Mondesir) was a very cool person,” Horsford’s relatives said, “He was always willing to lend an ear to your problems, and would always try to help in any way he could.” Friends and relatives were not the only ones left to mourn yesterday.

In a release sent to the media, Police Commissioner Stephen Williams extended condolences to Mondesir’s family while expressing sadness and shock over his death.

Police and Social Welfare Association president Inspector Michael Seales, told Newsday his association was especially hurt as the constable was very active in the association.

He also made a plea to the public to be more careful on the roads.

The tournament took the ‘Two Balls Better Ball, Stable Ford 3/4 Handicap’ format where the President of Trinidad and Tobago, Anthony Carmona, was the feature speaker at the prize giving ceremony as the charity event was named under his patronage.

Forty teams participated in this year’s event as the majority of golfers stemmed from the prestigious colleges in San Fernando, most from the Naparima and Presentation Alumni, as the competition heated up from the longstanding rivalry.

Speaking during the ceremony, President Carmona said, “There is a very special relationship between both these colleges and by extension their neighbouring sister schools within San Fernando.

There consists a level of mutual respect, and a battle of well-grounded but decent banter amongst those who attended any of these schools.” He stressed the need to support good things and good people in the country and went on to give some of the positive effects from the relationships.

“At the end of the day, it is engaging to know there are people who are prepared to come forward to support, assist and invest into the future of our young people, even if they are from your rival school. This common brotherhood and kinship should spread throughout the country as this is what it means to be a better human being. These schools are always willing to extend a helping hand of support to one another.” The 18-year-old Naguar was the youngest golfer on the greens and defeated his father, by a single point, as he claimed the weekend stay for two at the Magdalena Grand Beach Resort in Tobago. Richard Nagaur, a Physical Educator at Naparima College, placed second on the overall standings on 42 points with his partner Dr Daryl Dvlan, and was delighted with the performances from both his son and himself.

The runners-up received mobile devices from Bmobile while the third-placed pair of Mike Charles and Sandra Montano received a SEIKI 32” HDTV.

As all proceeds from the day’s competition will be utilised for the enhancement of the college classrooms, principal of Presentation San Fernando Dexter Mitchell, expressed his gratitude towards his school’s Parents Council Association (PCA) and a special thanks to the PCA’s president, Antonia Walcott, for taking up the initiative of organising the event.

Mitchell stated, “Charity is where the heart belongs and the recipe for a successful school includes a strong parent-teacher bond, proper investments into the student’s future for the comfort of learning along with the support from the alumni as well as operating in a competitive educational environment.” Mitchell gave an insight to the next step in enhancing the school’s classroom infrastructure by equipping them with smart boards, multimedia displays and mentioned all classrooms thus far are fully air conditioned. He noted that the Government alone cannot fund these accessories for the students and some of the costs need to be absorbed by the Alumni, Parents Council and the business community to support their future.

Also present at the prize giving ceremony was former Prime Minister Basdeo Panday.

However, none of the persons Newsday spoke to seemed overly put out by the delay. The basic message was that due to the otherwise excellence of the water taxi service, passengers were prepared to forgive this slip-up. “It is a good service. Thank God for it, because in years gone by we’d have to hustle with the bus,” said one woman opting to say nameless.

“I don’t want to go back to that everyday on the highway.” Newsday counted about 140 passengers some standing in queue but most seated in the air-conditioned structure.

Newsday called the water taxi customer service department which said the delay was caused by, “an issue with the vessel which was sorted out”, such that the boat was well on its way to arrive just 20 minutes after its initially-due time.

One person contacted Newsday to allege that when she called the terminal at 2.30 pm, no details were given as to when the boat would be in Port of Spain.

Secondly she said any delays affect the traveller’s commute. “It is very stressful because you turn up on a morning, you never know whether there will be a delay or not. Some days the 6.30 am sailing takes 90 minutes, compared to 45 minutes which is regular time, and on evening after a long days work it’s very frustrating.

The CFTL will give $200,000 to the League Cup starting in September, which will involve all 20 teams in the Super League. A further $350,000 will be handed over to the Power Eight tournament kicking off in January 2018, a post-season tournament featuring the top eight teams in the Super League First Division.

Speaking at a media conference at the former Trinidad and Tobago Football Association office at the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Mucurapo yesterday, Anderson said his passion for TT football has not wavered and he wants to help with the growth of the sport.

“As a former Trinidad and Tobago player, my passion is always for Trinidad and Tobago football,” stated Anderson. “For the past 15 to 20 years I have seen our football decline in a way where it is totally dilapidated. “When I saw Mr Look Loy, with the passion and the commitment to implement such an independent operation, I felt it was my duty to intervene and I made the first call to him and offered my assistance.” Anderson said the agreement between the CFTL and the TTS L can be the start of a long relationship between the two organisations.

“This is the beginning.

I anticipate that we will venture into greater things as we go along. I could see our company committing to bigger cash amounts to help elevate this Super League to the next level which I envision.” Keith Look Loy, interim president of the TTS L, was elated with the new partnership. Look Loy said, “We are very, very happy that Caribbean Football Trust has come on board. This is not only a vote of confidence, but it gives incentives to the clubs and to the players.

There is prize money to be played for, and it gives us creditability that an international sponsor recognises what we are trying to do.” Look Loy says the gap between the TT Pro League and the TTS L is small, and believes the Power Eight tournament will be of a high standard.

“This is going to be a good tournament. The top eight clubs in the Super League, it is going to be a high level tournament.

“The gap that is supposed to exist between Pro League clubs as the top tier of local football and Super League clubs as the second tier of local football is increasingly becoming imaginary. I believe that the top clubs in the Super League could match any club in the TT Pro League,” Look Loy ended.