NEWS
$34 M Cocaine Bust
Two security guards were among five people arrested on Sunday at Piarco International Airport just as two suitcases filled with $34.4 million in cocaine was being loaded into the cargo hold of a Caribbean Airlines (CAL) aircraft. The flight was about to depart for New York. The five appeared before an Arima magistrate yesterday to answer charges of possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking and attempting to export a banned item namely cocaine. Police said that Marlo Ricardo Thomas, 45; check-in clerk Krystel Birot, 24; baggage handler Maurice Edwin Hinds, 27, and security guards Kyle Jones and K’dere Lee Gomez, 23 and 27 respectively, all appeared in court to answer the charges. Read more here
Cops to probe Latino prostitution ring
Senior Supt of the Southern Division Zamsheed Mohammed has given the assurance an investigation will be launched into the allegations of a Latino prostitution ring in South Trinidad that is being facilitated by Immigration officers and a private school. It is alleged that Spanish-speaking women from several countries, including Venezuela, Dominican Republic, Peru, Brazil and Columbia are being brought into the country with student visas they purchase from immigration officers for as much as US$1,500. Read more here
‘Land row link’ in Mayaro gardener’s murder
Police are investigating whether a land dispute led to the killing of a Mayaro gardener on Sunday. Anthony Sonny, 28, was killed in the doorway of his home at Stone Bright Village. Read more here
POLITICS
Minister: $15b a year in lost tax
AS much as $15 billion is lost each year to tax evasion, lamented Minister in the Ministry of Finance Allyson West, speaking to Newsday yesterday, ahead of Thursday’s Mid-Year Review. Those suspected of evading tax cut across the social spectrum from the informal sector up to highly-paid professionals in established practices, she said. “A study last August-September by Prof Karl Theodore of the University of the West Indies estimated conservatively a shortfall of $10-$15 billion annually. It’s a lot of money, that would address our deficit,” West said. Read more here
Senior lawyers knock Young
Seven senior attorneys practising before the criminal bar are condemning statements made by acting Attorney General Stuart Young where he claimed some lawyers were assisting gang leaders to run their empires. In a joint statement issued yesterday, the seven silk, Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj, Osbourne Charles, Israel Khan, Pamela Elder, Gilbert Peterson, Ernest H. Koylass and Sophia Chote said they “deprecate” the statements made by Young saying if he was “indeed aware of such practices, he ought to have exercised restraint commensurate with his office and permitted law enforcement to perform their duties without hindrance.” They called on Young to “apologise to the practitioners at the criminal bar.” Read more here
BUSINESS
Oil prices cross US$70
US oil prices crashed through the US$70-a-barrel mark for the first time since late 2014, foreshadowing costlier gasoline and consumer goods. It’s not clear that pricey crude will slow down the economy, however. The stock market moved higher in midday trading yesterday, as investors bet that companies and consumers can cope with the increase. Read more here
Low demand driving low inflation
People struggling so some prices didn’t go up. Low demand driving low inflation. In a quarter ending December, when consumer spending usually increases (Divali and Christmas), inflation fell to a very low rate, supporting Standard & Poor’s (S&P) explanation that low demand is behind the country’s low inflation. Read more here
REGIONAL
Flood Of Fears - More Than 30 Houses Under Threat As Water Destroys Perimeter Walls
The fear was evident in the faces of several residents on Harbour Drive in Harbour View, St Andrew, yesterday, as they prayed for an ease in the rain that lashed the community Sunday evening into Monday morning. More rain over the next 24 hours could cause almost 30 families to lose their houses after floodwaters destroyed the perimeter walls at the back of their properties early yesterday morning. The fearful residents are blaming the authorities for the threat that they now face. "In 2015, they started a World Bank-funded project to take the water from the hills above Harbour View. We saw the drawings and the scope of work and we told them it could not work. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
World holds breath for Trump's Iran deal decision
President Donald Trump on Tuesday can land his most devastating blow yet on the legacy of Barack Obama, but a move to pull out of the Iran nuclear deal could also spark a dangerous global crisis. The decision, to be announced at the White House at 2 p.m. ET Tuesday, could mark a signature moment for Trump's presidency. It gives him the chance to cement his "America First" philosophy but risks triggering unknowable consequences that in a worst case scenario could lead to war with Iran. Read more here
Eric Schneiderman, New York attorney general, quits amid assault reports
8th May 2018