PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad (CMC) – Trinidad and Tobago police have released a 46-year-old man, whom they had detained last week after he allegedly phoned in a threat to bomb a shopping mall in Trincity east of here.

The authorities said that the unidentified man was released on Monday after the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Roger Gaspard had examined a file sent to his office on the arrest.

Media reports said that the DPP had indicated there was not enough evidence to lay any charge against the man.

Last Thursday, Acting Minister of National Security Stuart Young said the police had detained one man after he allegedly phoned in a threat to bomb the shopping mall.

Young said that as a result of the effective intelligence and monitoring services “the person who is alleged to have made this phone call which turned out to be a hoax was actually apprehended by the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service.

“The phone from which the call was made was recovered in his possession and that person is now currently detained by the police and is assisting them with ongoing investigations.”

Last week, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley said that his administration was taking the threat to bomb shopping malls here seriously and warned that it would use every available resource to protect the State and its citizens.

Last Tuesday, National Security Minister retired Major General Edmund Dillon urged residents to remain calm as police continued their investigations into the authenticity of two recordings shared via Whatsapp, warning of a plot to bomb several shopping malls in the country.

In the first recording directed to a Whatsapp group, the man uses the word “batch” which is commonly used by soldiers, and makes reference of information he says came out of the camp he is in.

He goes on to refer to the camp as being close to where the Special Anti-Crime Unit of T&T (SUATT) operated and that the word reaching the camp is that ISIS is planning to detonate bombs in the malls sometime between Thursday and Sunday

The person is informing relatives to stay away from the malls.