NATIONAL Security Minister Fitzgerald Hinds claimed that questionable practices took place during the covid19 pandemic while Gary Griffith was police commissioner.

He made the claim at a PNM public meeting in San Juan on January 18.

Hinds said a state of emergency (SoE) was implemented by the Government as a strategy to reduce the spread of covid19 by restricting the movement of people.

As a government minister, Hinds said he got a pass to allow himself to move around in public while covid19 regulations and the SoE were in effect.

He claimed that during the pandemic some 22,000 covid19 vehicle passes were issued while Griffith was CoP.

Hinds said, "These passes were being sold in south (Trinidad) for $5,000 each."

He said when he investigated the matter, he discovered that some of the passes were given to people who were not authorised to receive the passes.

Hinds claimed a person who received one of those passes is now involved in an ongoing legal matter with an opposition parliamentarian.

He reiterated concerns about close to 8,000 firearm user licenses (FULs) being approved during Griffith's tenure as commissioner.

"That means more guns and licences (approved by Griffith) than (by) all the other CoPs."

Hinds claimed that during Griffith's tenure, there were cases where civilians were licensed to have high-powered firearms.

"It included people with convictions and deportees."

On border security, Hinds said 12 Coast Guard vessels were left in disrepair by the former UNC-led People's Partnership coalition government.

He added that an agreement was reached recently with the vessels' manufacturer, Dutch shipbuilder Damen, and they will soon be back in service.

The post Hinds: Covid passes were sold for $5,000 during pandemic appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.