Chief of Defence Staff Air Vice Marshal Darryl Daniel was the person who saved Major Roger Best, the former director of the Strategic Services Agency (SSA), from a possible criminal charge of being in possession of a prohibited weapon, police said.
Daniel gave investigators an additional statement on the weekend of May 18, after Best and three others were arrested, between May 15 and 16 and subsequently released on May 18, on suspicion of misbehaviour in public office for the transfer of four high-powered weapons from the now-defunct Special Operations Response Team (SORT) base in Cumuto to SSA's St Vincent Street, Port of Spain base in April 2021.
Police said Daniel claimed that under the provisions of the Defence Force Act he had activated Best as a reservist which gives Best full authority as an enlisted military officer and was therefore authorised to be in possession of automatic weapons. Section 6 (2) of the Firearm Act prohibits anyone, with the exception of the police, defence force, customs officers, prison officers and the director of the Forensic Science Centre from possessing an automatic weapon.
Best, who has been described as combat expert certified in the Israeli martial arts of Krav Maga, has been instrumental in training the army's Special Forces, military sources said. He is also a trained firearm expert.
[caption id="attachment_1085758" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Former SSA director Roger Best -[/caption]
Questions sent to Daniel through the Defence Force's communications officer Lt Sherron Manswell on May 24 were acknowledged and a request was made for time to provide a response. There was no response up to press time.
Military sources said Daniel and Best trained together when they joined the military.
In November 2021, the Government amended the Firearm Act to allow the SSA director and those appointed by the officeholder to bear firearms during the execution of their duties.
The SSA is authorised to intercept communications after obtaining court orders under the Interception of Communication Act. The agency reports directly to the National Security Council, chaired by the Prime Minister, which includes the Minister of National Security and the Attorney General, among others.
The National Security Council is charged with monitoring matters relating to defence and national security and is serviced by a secretariat.
Investigators assigned to the Professional Standards Bureau, under the command of Snr Supt Alva Gordon, had questioned the four primarily on the transfer of two Sig Sauer MPX 9 mm automatic submachine guns and two Sig Sauer 516 automatic rifles, which carries 5.56 ammunition, for use by six police officers assigned to the SSA.
Best was also questioned about possession of a prohibited weapon, a MP5K Heckler and Koch automatic submachine gun, in contravention of the Firearm Act. Police said Best surrendered the weapon to the Air Guard at Piarco in March, after he was sent on administrative leave on March 2.
In an initial statement, Daniel told police that
