Trinidad and Tobago Police Commissioner apologises over Buju Banton ‘s room search

Gary Griffith and Buju Banton

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad— Police Commissioner Gary Griffith has apologised to Jamaican reggae artiste Buju Banton, whose hotel room in Port of Spain  was raided on Saturday by police  – claiming to have a search warrant.

Following the incident, in which nothing illegal was found in the entertainer’s room, the meeting was held with the Police Commissioner  who assured Buju Banton, whose given name is Mark Myire, that he is aware of the “embarrassment, anxiety and inconvenience the search executed by officers earlier had on him and his team.”

The Commissioner stated that the incident was “not at all a personal attack on Buju Banton or his team” and reassured him that he (Griffith) will do all in his power to ensure that Buju’s stay in the twin island republic remains peaceful and incident free.

Buju was in Trinidad and Tobago for Sunday’s staging of the ‘I am Legend’ concert.

In addressing the actual search of the entertainer’s hotel room, the police commissioner explained that the Organised Crime and Intelligence Unit (OCU) received certain information and as a result they executed a search warrant at the room . The commissioner stated that if intelligence is received officers “must act”.

Griffith said, however, that he is concerned that the intelligence is flawed, adding that when intelligence is received, officers are supposed to follow up by doing surveillance and he is now investigating whether or not this was done.

The commissioner added that the incident is further cause for him to complete the streamlining and restructuring of the operations of the OCU.