Police have in custody five men who they believe can help solve the murder of Peter Garcia, who was shot dead at the doorsteps to the Rio Claro Magistrates’ Court on Monday.
Among those detained are brothers aged 19 and 20.
Police believe they are the men who posed as construction workers and killed Garcia as he was being led out of the courtroom.
The five suspects were held at a hideout house at Coalmine, Sangre Grande, during a police operation that began before daybreak and involved searches in the forest off the Guayaguayare Road, Rio Claro.
Two other suspects held overnight are also being questioned about the getaway car used by the killers-a silver-coloured Nissan Almera.
The killing of Garcia, once considered Trinidad’s most wanted, and the ease with which the killers committed their crime and escaped, has outraged many citizens, who have condemned the state of national security.
Acting Police Commissioner James Philbert said the police had lost ground following the incident, and promised citizens the killing would be solved in a short time.
The two constables who were escorting Garcia were unarmed and ran when his attackers opened fire. They have been asked to help police with a sketch and profile of the suspects.
The Express was told that Philbert took personal charge of the investigation on Tuesday. He was at the Rio Claro Police Station that night for a briefing on the case.
Garcia was in the Rio Claro court on Monday, charged with the murder of Rio Claro businessman Simboonath Kumar, and with wounding with intent to murder.
The charges came after Garcia surrendered to police, following a manhunt last month.
During his time as a fugitive, Garcia was accused of multiple crimes, including the murders of two brothers and a friend, and setting fire to his mother’s home. He was killed on Monday, police believe, because his relatives had boasted that he would be freed that day of the charges.
Garcia’s father, Harvey Huggins, said on Monday that the village knew the name of the man who wanted Garcia dead.
Homicide officers believe they cracked the cases of two other murdered men yesterday. They arrested a suspect in the April 1 stabbing death of Peter Sean Maraj, whose body was found at Mafekin Branch Trace, Mayaro.
An arrest has also been made in the killing of John Kissoon, whose throat was slit as he slept on the beach off Rabita Avenue, Mayaro, on June 4.
