He said the meeting was important and I should come and attend, to which I readily agreed.

Admittedly, I did not see the extension of an invitation from the Mayor of Port of Spain as being one arising out of Balisier House. I did not see the intention of that invitation as one coming from a PNM-elected mayor. I did not see the invitation as part of a (Opposition Leader Dr Keith) Rowley-inspired agenda. I accepted the invitation to attend the meeting in the Mayor's office in Port of Spain merely because of the Mayor of Port of Spain and, in fact, I have had several meeting there before.

Upon entering the Mayor's office I was surprised to see in the company of the Mayor the President of the PSA (Public Services Association) Mr Watson Duke; a member from the PSA executive; and two unidentified individuals who I gathered from statements made later wished to leave behind a life of crime.

The Mayor explained that the meeting was convened by him in an effort in the reduction of crime in the Laventille area. i was taken aback by the nature of the meeting and asked what was expected of me.-I was told by the Mayor-Mayor Louis Lee Sing-that a collaborative approach and consultation with those who sought peace in Laventille would be productive and he proposed a larger meeting on Wednesday, August 22 at St Paul Street Community Centre at 10 am.

That was yesterday.

I took the decision that I was in some way duped into attending and I felt that the one that was being planned for yesterday should be one that should involve the law enforcement officials.

I left the place of entrapment, that is the Mayor's office-which I believe had been intended for me - and I immediately called the (Acting) Commissioner of Police Stephen Williams, the Deputy Commissioner of Police Mervyn Richardson and the Chief of Defence Staff Kenrick Maharaj.

This took place at 10.30 am at the Ministry of National Security exactly 20 minutes after the conclusion of the meeting at the Mayor's office.

I recounted to the heads of the protective services what took place at the meeting and shared my misgivings and deep concerns for what I construed to be an entrapment. I suggested to them -and they readily agreed- that the appropriate group to meet with those to be assembled at St Paul Street would be the law enforcement officials whom I had met: Acting CoP Stephen Williams, Deputy Commissioner of Police Mervyn Richardson and Brigadier Kenrick Maharaj. I said to them that they should be the ones involved in that meeting of yesterday not me. They all agreed and they also felt that there should be a representative of the Ministry of National Security as well.

The meeting was held yesterday (Wednesday) at St Paul Street Community Centre at 10 am. I did not attend. That meeting, I have been advised, present there was the head of the PSA Mr Watson Duke. Also, you had another representative of the PSA along with several members of the Laventille community and there were five senior members of the Police Service.

Interestingly enough, the Mayor of Port of Spain, who had agreed to the hosting of the meeting and had promised attendance, reneged on his promise and did not attend that meeting. Yesterday's (Wednesday) meeting, nevertheless, took place without my presence and I am further advised that among the list of issues raised by the members in attendance were: the need for peace in the Laventille community; sustainable jobs; security for the Life Sport programme; and the rehabilitation of the St Paul Street playground.

That, members of the media, is a true and fair statement of the alleged meeting with gangs as reported in today's Express.

What the real story should be is why was I called by the Mayor into the meeting of last Wednesday? Why was I called into his office? Why did he not attend yesterday's meeting? Or was he hoping that I would have been stupid enough to have arrived there in the glare of the hidden cameras that were planted there from the media? Contrary to the promise made by Mrs Persad-Bissessar and this Government not to negotiate with gang leaders?

More importantly, I asked the question, is this part of the ongoing plot that includes daily attacks on me, full page ads in the Mirror paid for by Rowley. Was this meeting I attended a form of entrapment hatched at Balisier House? I ask the question also: who is using the members of the Laventille community to advance their political agenda? In fact, today's Express headline should have read not "Government meets with gang leaders" but "PNM plot unveiled."

I want the national community to know this: that this Government of Mrs Persad-Bissessar of which I am the Minister of National Security. I want the country to know this, that Jack Warner and this Government will never negotiate law and order. Jack Warner imposes it, he does not negotiate it.

At the end of the day, the questions must be asked by you all: why would they go through lengths to entrap me? The answer is simple. Anyone who has a reason to fear is running scared. Running scared that I will succeed in the fight against crime. And I want to say to you here today that I will succeed despite the best efforts and plots to stop me. You recall that last Friday (in Parliament) I said to you as I say to you now that the gang leaders with guns and ammunition and drugs in the streets, they shall be apprehended. I said so. I say it again.

They are the small guys. They are the small ones, so to speak. The ones who are bringing in the guns, the drugs and the ammunition under the veneer of respectability, they are the ones who are more dangerous than the guys in the streets. We will go after them.

I said in Parliament last Friday also that the guys who are engaged in the money laundering from which funds they carry out their illicit and illegal trade, they shall be caught. And they can launder their money through casinos and sports bars with Nigerians who are working without permits, or they can hide in buildings with apartments and businesses under their wives' names or they can even build big palaces and remove the mountain-top in Maraval or anywhere but, I repeat, they shall be caught.

I want to give you some figures based on a meeting which we held with he FIU - the Financial Intelligence Unit - with the Ministry two days ago. Thirty of us attended. We had the DPP (Director of Public Prosecutions) the Ministry of this, the Ministry of that, police. All of us met to plot strategies of how we would go after them, especially those guys who launder money in this country. I will give you some figures.

The number of SARs (Suspicious Activity Reports) from February 9, 2010 to September 30, 2010 was 101. These reports are reports which the banks sent to the Financial Intelligence Unit in relation to accounts of persons who are suspicious. We have in an eight month period 101. Between October 1, 2010 and September 30, 2011, we have 330.

So therefore we have now a total of 431 accounts that are being reviewed and some of which are being restrained because the fact is they are the ones who are even more dangerous than the guys in the streets.

As such, therefore, I say to you that there are those on the other side who shall protest. They can rave and rant as they want. They can hold a press conference every week if they wish. I want to assure this country that they can run but never will they be allowed to hide.

As such, therefore, because of the delicate nature of this matter, I have decided not to entertain any questions and I thank you for understanding.