Extortion threatens
business survival
PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad--In a statement to “Business Guardian”, the Confederation of Regional Business Chambers (CRBC), which represents the retail sector in Trinidad and Tobago, said it views the current crime situation in Trinidad and Tobago with great concern.
“It is the view of the CRBC that crime not only affects economic productivity when victims miss work, but communities also are affected through loss of tourism investments and retail sales. Even the so-called victimless crimes of human trafficking, drug abuse, and gambling have major social consequences.”
The statement also said in addition to this, runaway crime has a negative impact on business investment and government spending regarding infrastructural works.
“This is due to the emerging crime of extortion, which is rearing its ugly head and is very alarming. The police service needs to be more flexible and adjust their structure to set up a unit to deal with the extortion racket and protect small businesses and legitimate contractors.”
The statement added: “Chronic issues with crime can lead to the closure of businesses, particularly small businesses that lack the resources to recover. This is a real situation, as many families who are involved in business are closing their enterprises and migrating to the United States (US) and Canada. There is a huge loss in confidence and a high level of disproportionate fear among these families.”
In the statement, the CRBC called for more police/army joint patrols within all districts within Trinidad and Tobago and stated that citizens now consider all of Trinidad and Tobago to be “hot spots.”
“It is only in recent press reports that highlighted the town of Arima being plagued by gang violence and businesses are shutting down and even residents are moving out of the area. This is an opportunity for Minister Keith Scotland to be strategic and apply both the hard and soft power to bring sustained stability within the hot spots in Arima.”
The statement ended by saying that there is a “fantastic opportunity” for Minister Scotland to hold meaningful and constructive dialogue with the many different business chambers and associations to understand their challenges and exchange views on some practical solutions.
Business ‘fronts’ targeted
Business activity in Trinidad and Tobago continues to be negatively impacted, as the million-dollar illegal firearm trade and murder rate are increasing unabatedly.
A research paper completed in May of this year by Author and Criminologist Daurius Figueira analysed crime statistics which show the impact of rising transnational crime on the business community.
It also highlights the worrying trend of the emergence of new illicit industries in Trinidad and Tobago. The research paper is entitled “An analysis of kill events with two or more victims in Trinidad and Tobago 2017- 2023.”
In an interview with “Business Guardian”, Figueira gave more details.
“The war between two contending business models in the illicit trades have changed the nature of the illicit trades in Trinidad and Tobago, changed criminality, further impacted the costs of doing business sending it higher in a period when the level of demand has taken a hit. There is now a resort to attacks against the person and property where businesses and their owners/operators are targeted. The wars in the illicit trades and the new order of the illicit trades have now limited opportunities for those seeking employment,” he said.
He also referred to figures in the underworld who are hurting the image of the business community by using legitimate businesses as a front for their illegal activities.
“Demand exceeds the supply of opportunity. The displaced are now embracing attacks on the person and property. Persons involved in the illicit trades who run front business are targets in the war between illicit business models, which is acting as blood on the water for criminal activity.
“The murder toll for 2024 to-date signals the likelihood that we will, in 2024, surpass the murder toll of 2023. If this means a return to the days of 600 plus murders per year, time will tell. We don’t have a gang problem in Trinidad and Tobago, we have transnational organised crime creating and driving gangland and its evolution. We must now police those pulling the strings not only the marionettes.”
While government and the business sector have repeatedly called for new economic sectors and industries to be developed to solve the country’s economic challenges, Figueira’s research paper shows that new “industries” are developing but these are illicit industries that are not related to legitimate economic activity.
In the research paper, Figueira explained that the use of illicit guns as the dominant instrument of murder in Trinidad and Tobago for the 2017 to 2023 period demands an understanding of the illicit small weapons trade in Trinidad and Tobago.
He said acquiring a steady affordable supply of weapons from the AR-15 and AK-47 platforms by the Colombian affiliates and the unaffiliated in Trinidad and Tobago became an imperative vitally necessary to defend their hegemony and survive.
“An arms race in the illicit trades of Trinidad and Tobago then appeared in the Trinidad and Tobago illicit trades in the second decade of the 21st century which intensified the nature of the engagement driving it at times to paranoia with a penchant for terrorism. A concomitant development arising from the reactivation of the US supply pipelines was the smuggling of reloading machines, black powder, detonators and bullets for reloading spent cartridges to live rounds of ammunition.”
He also said this new illicit industry then created a demand for spent shells overnight where all gun ranges became targets of supply for this valuable commodity.
“The landscape of the illicit trades has been organically changed, diversified with the presence of two transnational organised crime groups in the illicit trades of Trinidad and Tobago unleashing impacts upon the social order of Trinidad and Tobago never experienced before in the history of the illicit trades.” ~ Trinidad and Tobago Guardian ~
