PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad (CMC) — Trinidad’s Police Commissioner Allister Guevarro says several Trinidadian and Venezuelan nationals detained at sea “weren’t out there to collect fish”  amid media reports that they were allegedly on their way to collect a shipment of guns and illegal drugs bound for Trinidad and Tobago.

A video circulating on social media showed the detention of the men by Venezuelan security officials on August 13 or 14, and police are quoted in the local media as saying the arrest is being linked to the broader transnational criminal networks currently under scrutiny as part of the ongoing state of emergency (SOE).

Guevarro, in a voice note to the Trinidad Guardian newspaper, said: “My information is that they weren’t out there to collect fish.” He, however, did not reveal how many Trinidad and Tobago nationals were arrested on the vessel.

But the Trinidad Guardian newspaper on Monday quoted local intelligence officials as saying that the men were en route to collect a large shipment of narcotics and firearms destined for Trinidad and that the arrest is being directly linked to a broader criminal syndicate that remains under active surveillance.

The newspaper said that the Venezuelan national is reportedly affiliated with the international organised crime syndicate, Tren de Aragua.

The paper quoted the senior police sources as saying that the Trinidadian nationals detained aboard the vessel have been linked to an incarcerated gang leader in the country and that the group was intercepted approximately 60 nautical miles off Cabo Codera, Venezuela.

Venezuelan officials also seized 3,000 litres of fuel along with a large quantity of contraband.

The arrests come amid the ongoing SOE that was declared on July 18, with the newspaper saying that the arrest has led to speculation that the emergence of the video, along with other recent intelligence, may have influenced the government’s decision to cancel all Independence Day celebrations, including the national parade, and instead declare a National Day of Prayer and Reflection.

In his voice note to the Guardian Media, Guevarro said investigations are continuing into the arrest of the locals and that “some of the individuals who are known to us have now made our jobs a lot easier”.

He said that while it was “fewer men” for the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) to locate now, officers were aware of where to look, warning, “Let this serve as a clear warning to other misguided individuals who believe that they can evade justice by crossing borders.”

He also said the suspects may not be as comfortable or fond of the accommodations provided by local officials at secure military facilities, adding, “I wish them luck because they will need it.”

Meanwhile, police said that they have arrested two men and seized an assault rifle and quantities of ammunition and narcotics during anti-crime operations in the South Western Division on Sunday.

The police said that a 22-year-old man was arrested in possession of an assault rifle and a quantity of ammunition, and in the second operation, a 28-year-old suspect was detained after a quantity of cocaine had been discovered during a search at a house.