The Fallout from the recent Strategic Services Agency (SSA) shakeup continued as police officers from the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) yesterday executed a search warrant at the Arima residence of a pastor who once worked as an adviser at the Strategic Services Agency (SSA). TTPS officers visited to the home of the pastor around 7.30 a.m. , Saturday and executed a search warrant on the premises.
No one was detained during the search which took about five and a half hours, ending just after 1.30 p.m.
Investigators said that when they arrived on the compound, a man wearing what appeared to be a “rasta wig” seemed to be about to leave the premises, however, an officer recognised the man and he was asked to remain on the premises for the search.
Officers described the building as a maze, as “one room led into another room and then into multiple rooms” and also indicated that they were also met by two women at the home. Police also searched other locations in East Trinidad yesterday as part of their investigations into SSA operations.
The Office of the Prime Minister announced a change in the leadership of the SSA in a statement on March 3, 2024. The current head of the SSA major Roger Best has been sent on administrative leave. The National security Council (NSC) recommended to the Cabinet that the head of the SSA be replaced immediately and that new leadership and management be installed with dispatch,”.
Former Ambassador Retired Brig. Anthony Phillips-Spencer, on the instruction of the Prime Minister, returned from Washington, DC, to take up the role. Phillips-Spencer is “currently engaged in initiating an extensive review of all personnel, equipment and processes within the SSA.”