On the heels of news that an employee of the Office of the Chief Secretary in Tobago has been arrested on trafficking offenses, the Chief Secretary himself, Farley Augustine, has maintained that the suspect in question is not an officer in his office.
According to reports, the 30-year-old “employee of the Chief Secretary’s Office was detained Saturday after police had cause to search his vehicle and discovered a Glock pistol, ammunition, a ski mask and a quantity of illegal drugs.
Augustine explained that the Office of the Chief Secretary (OCS) is a division of the THA in the same way the Office of the Prime Minister is a Ministry of Government.
He said: “OCS constitutes the following departments: Accounts, HR Contracts, Director of HR (HR for the entire public service in Tobago), Planning, TEMA, Information Division, Procurement, Internal Audit, Registry, and Properties among others. This gentleman whoever he is, could be working in any of these departments but he is certainly not an officer in the Chief Secretary’s office. Please don’t mislead the public.”
According to the Chief Secretary, upon his own investigation, it was discovered that the suspect was a Business Operations Assistant 1 at the Registry department.
Augustine said: “His employment started prior to 2018 (long before I became Chief Secretary). He was recently absent from work for approximately 40 days in excess of sick leave eligibility. My investigations also reveal that he is the close relative of a notorious leader who is locked away behind bars and calling shots on the outside.”
“On another note, thank you TTPS. Go after every criminal and get them and the guns off the streets. Turn the place upside down and grab hold of those who seek to threaten our way of life. Keep pressing TTPS. Find them and jail them!” Augustine asserted.