Shabaaz tells coup probe NAR ministers were involved in illicit drug trade

One of the men who participated in the failed 1990 Muslimeen coup said Tuesday two government ministers in the former National Alliance for Reconstruction (NAR) government were involved in the illicit drug trade.

Jamaal Shabazz, who was a senior member of the Jamaat al Muslimeen, also told the Commission of Enquiry into the uprising several members of the group received foreign military prior to the coup attempt as part of their religious instruction.

Shabazz, who is now a football coach, made the comments in response to questions from a lawyer for the commission. "I know a lot of us went to the Middle East in terms of Islamic training. The whole question of Islamic training involves military training as well," he said.

Shabazz also spoke of the alleged murder of Woman Police Constable Bernadette James, which he said happened after she saw former National Alliance for Reconstruction (NAR) national security ministers Selwyn Richardson and Herbert Atwell in a room at Piarco Airport with cocaine on a table.

He said that development was a major cause of the 1990 attempted overthow of the Robinson government.

Shabazz said in August 1987, James visited the Jamaat and told senior members that she saw Richardson, Atwell and Major Thompson in a room at the airport with the cocaine.

He said Richardson talked about a coverup. He said Richardson tasted the substance and remarked, “This is the real thing but we have to put a lid on this. If we allow them to be charged, it will be a big scandal and a lot of big people would be affected."

He said James reported that she was chastised for entering the room and ordered to leave. “Her opinion was that a large quantity of cocaine was intercepted by the police and it belonged to an influential family and moves were afoot to cover it up,” Shabazz said.

He said James said she feared for her life. In October 1987, James was summoned to do a police operation in Tucker Valley where she was reportedly accidentally shot and killed in a training exercise.

“We felt she was murdered,” he said. At that point, he said, the Jamaat decided to help stamp out the cocaine trade by going after pushers. He added, however, that it soon got out of hand because new Jamaat members were gettinbg involved in the drug trade.

He also claimed that police officers told Muslimeen leader Imam Yasin Abu Bakr “this thing is bigger than us”.

He explained how the Muslimeen tackled the problem. “We focused on the East-West Corridor and took a very militant stance...We seized pushers’ drugs and took it to Trinidad & Tobago Television to destroy it in front of the media.

“When we identified a pusher, we would make a raid and bring them in. We threatened them and warned them to stop within three days or there would be more serious consequences.”

Shabazz admitted that the Muslimeen used heavy intimidation and succeeded in getting most of the pushers they targeted to stop the illegal trade. “Aggressive hostile persons would get some licks,” he said.

While admitting that there were rouge members who took part in the drug trade, Shabaaz also said police went after Muslimeen members arresting them on trumped-up charges.

“They instructed the police to come down on us like a steam roller...All our methods to stamp out the drug trade were met with harsh retaliation by the NAR.

“They destroyed a bakery we had in an abandoned DEWD building in Laventille saying we were trespassing.

“We had information from national security that the army and the police would come to the compound and an accident would take place and we would be killed.  

“The NAR tolerated the drug trade (which)...definitely led to the attempted coup,” Shabazz said.