From Caribbean360

The Police Social and Welfare Association (PSWA) said the killing was a gang’s attempt to flex its muscle in a terrible way and gangs in the country were becoming copycats of the South American style of warfare.

PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad, Wednesday September 11, 2013 – Trinidad and Tobago police say the recent beheading of a man represents a warning from warring gang leaders who are copying the South American style of warfare

An autopsy conducted on the body of Michael Leinberg Piper, whose severed head was found on a street in the capital on Monday, showed there were no bullet or stab wounds and that the cause of death was decapitation.

Piper’s hand and feet were tied when the body was found.

The Police Social and Welfare Association (PSWA) said the killing was a gang’s attempt to flex its muscle in a terrible way and gangs in the country were becoming copycats of the South American style of warfare.

If you look at most of the high intensity drug related countries like Colombia and not too far from us, Venezuela, you will realise that most of the time persons are beheaded. It is a message that is sent from one gang or group to another, “ said PSWA vice president, Inspector Roger Alexander.

“It shows what we are capable of doing, so it is a message. They would also take a person from the opposite side of the fence and drop him in enemy territory or just his head.

“A lot of the times when drug transactions go round in these countries every effort is made to satisfy the drug lord and have the (head) of the person who robbed him…brought back,” Alexander said.

The senior police officer said that the killing of Piper could become a worrying trend and appealed to the authorities to pay more attention to protecting the maritime boundaries.

“We need to reconsider our approach to having any and every person enter Trinidad and Tobago. They are bringing their attitude and their criminal ways and teaching the ones that are presently here. We need to protect our border lines from guns coming in and we need laws that would be implemented and have an effect in the shortest of time,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Piper’s relatives, who are based in Canada, have denounced the killing saying the father of three did not deserve to die this way.

“Michael was a victim, but more important, Michael was a son, brother to eight siblings, a father of three, grandfather to seven children and an uncle to 22 nieces and nephews. No matter what hand he was dealt, he kept his sense of humour. He was humble, loving, caring and patient. He loved Trinidad…so much in fact he chose to stay there while the majority of his family was in Canada,” his sister Sharon Piper wrote in an email to the parent company of the newspaper.

“He wrote just the other day on his Facebook page, how proud he was of his homeland, despite its shortcomings and overwhelming violence. That same gruesome violence that would take his life days later after writing about the country he loved so much,” she added.

Police have made no arrest and say they have no leads in the matter. (CMC)

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Related story:

Trinidad police find severed head of murdered man

From Caribbean 360

Police said the body of the unidentified man was found a few feet away from the shed where the severed head had been found on a street in the capital Port-of-Spain.

PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad, Monday September 9, 2013 – Police Monday said the severed head of a man had been found in the capital, and believes he may have been a victim of gang warfare in Trinidad and Tobago.

Police said the body of the unidentified man was found a few feet away from the shed where the severed head had been found on a street in the capital. Police said the hands and feet of the man were tied.

They said residents had reported gunshots in the area, prior to the gruesome discovery.

Police also denied reports that a second severed head had been found.

So far this year, 276 people have been murdered in Trinidad. (CMC)

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