The 38 transferred police officers who were once stationed at the St Joseph Police Station will have to undergo a series of DNA and fingerprint tests to ascertain whether they were involved in planting a cache of arms, ammunition and drugs in the station’s ceiling.

The disclosure came during a media briefing held by acting Commissioner of Police James Philbert at the Police Administration Headquarters in Port of Spain yesterday.

Philbert was flanked by his deputies, Gilbert Reyes, Maurice Piggott and Raymond Craig.

’In such findings, those things seized were packaged and sent for analysis. We expect to pursue DNA and fingerprinting,’ Philbert said, referring to a quantity of arms, ammunition and drugs found on Saturday by officers of the Criminal Intelligence Unit in the ceiling of the police station.

Adding that officers are yet to be questioned, Philbert said: ’That process will happen. It’s a large number of people and they will be interviewed according to whatever reason the investigator has.’

Questioned on whether the officers will be subjected to polygraph tests, Philbert said: ’I do not know that it (the investigation) will involve lie detector tests.’

Admitting that investigations headed by ASP John Martinez were ongoing, Philbert said he could not give a time-frame in which the matter would be concluded.

Referring to the find as serious in nature, which ’cut deep into the hearts of the Police Service’, Philbert said once again that public confidence has been lost and his officers will do everything possible ’to bring whoever is responsible for this action’.

’These items recovered were ill-placed in the Police Service and we see this as a betrayal of the Police Service and scandalous,’ Philbert said. Noting that investigators are yet to determine who, how and for what purpose the items were being stored, Philbert said transferring the officers should not be seen as the end process or as punishment.

’The transferring of the officers allows for free operation of the investigation and we also wish to start afresh at St Joseph,’ Philbert said.

Alluding to another ongoing investigation, which saw eight officers attached to the Sangre Grande Station also being transferred following the discovery of narcotics at the station, Philbert said several investigations are being delayed due to processing at forensics.

In the March 22, 2008, incident, Fraud Squad detectives searched the lockers of officers assigned to the Eastern Division Task Force, where ammunition and marijuana exhibits were found in lockers.

Noting that the general public will now be interacting with officers who do not have question marks over their heads, Philbert said he intends to deal strongly with the issue of corruption within the Service.

’We must do more constantly to ensure the people in the Police Service stand up to the test when temptation comes to them,’ Philbert said.