GUN dealer Brent Thomas has initiated legal action against the Barbadian Government for his “forcible removal” from Barbados by its police force in 2022.
Thomas wants compensation for the “egregious conduct” of the Barbadian authorities as well as several declarations relating to his “arrest, detention and forced repatriation” by the Barbados Police Service.
He is also demanding to know who gave the directive which led to his “unlawful abduction” from a hotel room in Barbados on October 5, 2022, as stated by Justice Devindra Rampersad in his ruling on Thomas’ constitutional challenge in April 2023.
“It is well established that individually or cumulatively, members of the BPS (Barbados Police Service) acted outwith the law and refused to afford our client the protection of the law afforded to him by the Constitution. “The laws of Barbados did not authorise any of the acts of the BPS relative to our client which occurred on October 5, 2022,” Barbados Attorney General Dale Marshall, SC, was told.
Thomas, 61, is the owner of Specialist Shooters Training Centre (SSTC), which has been one of the main suppliers of guns, ammunition and other security equipment to various arms of the State for over 20 years, is represented by attorneys Fyard Hosein, SC, Aadam Hosein, Clay Hackett, of Trinidad and Barbadian attorney Nicholas Jackman.
In his legal action against the State, Thomas also sued over the criminal charges against him which were stayed by Rampersad who condemned the police officers, both locally and from Barbados, for their method of capturing and bringing Thomas back to TT.
The State had also admitted that Thomas’ return to TT was unlawful but has appealed aspects of Rampersad’s ruling. Rampersad is also expected to decide on compensation.
In an address to the Barbadian Parliament on May 9, 2023, Marshall insisted Thomas was not “abducted” from Barbados, but he did admit officers of the BDS had “fallen short of the law” during the operation.
He said neither himself nor Prime Minister Mia Mottley was informed or made aware of any matter involving Thomas, but said that was not unusual. “We simply had no knowledge nor involvement in this matter.
This is not unusual as these matters are operational, and such requests for surveillance by another law enforcement arm for arrests of individuals do not fall within our purview.”
He said on October 4, 2022, an approach was made by the Transnational Organised Crime Unit (TOCU) of the TT police service to IMPACS (the Implementation Agency for Crime and Security), a special law enforcement agency of Caricom.
Marshall said IMPACS contacted a gazetted officer of the BDS who was told Thomas was a person of interest to the TTPS and the subject of several warrants in Trinidad but had eluded the surveillance of TOCU.
Thomas was on his way to visit his US cardiologist and stopped over in Barbados when he was detained at his hotel, handcuffed and handed over to three officers assigned to TT’s Professional Standards Bureau (PSB) on the tarmac of the Grantley Adam
