Police Constable Granted $250,000 Bail In Exhibit Larceny Case
The Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) is advising that Police Constable Kerdell Bernard Castillo appeared before Master Aida Mohamed at the Port-of-Spain Criminal Court on Monday (6th October 2025), charged with misbehaviour in public office arising from the alleged larceny and tampering of Court exhibits at the Barataria Police Station.
The accused was granted bail in the sum of $250,000 with surety. As part of the bail conditions:
- He must reside at his current home address unless a formal application for variation is submitted and approved.
- He must surrender his Passport immediately to the Registrar of the High Court.
According to the TTPS, this charge stems from an incident reported on Monday 15th September, 2025, when Officers at the Barataria Police Station discovered that several exhibits, including twenty-seven (27) black plastic packages containing plant-like material, resembling cannabis, had been removed and replaced with red bricks, styrofoam, and grass.
The exhibits had originally been lodged on Monday 6th September, 2025 as part of an active High Court matter and were secured in the Station’s Strong Room.
Investigations revealed that between 11th and 14th September, 2025, the accused Officer allegedly accessed the Strong Room on multiple occasions during his shift and removed a portion of the exhibits. The TTPS said the matter was immediately reported and referred to the Professional Standards Bureau (PSB).
The investigation was led by Deputy Commissioner of Police, Intelligence and Investigations, Ms. Natasha George, and supervised by ACP Richard Smith, Snr. Supt. Kirk, Supt. Jankee, WASP Bacchus, W/Insp. Guy, and Ag. Insp. Smith, along with other members of the PSB.
Following legal consultation with Acting Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Ms. Sabrina Dougdeen-Jaglal, the accused was arrested on Monday 29th September, 2025 and formally charged.
The formal charge reads as follows:
“Kerdell Bernard Castillo, between the 11th day of September, 2025 and the 14th day of September, 2025, at Barataria in the County of St. George in the North Magisterial District, being in and performing the duties of an office in which the public had an interest, misbehaved himself while acting in such office as a member of the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service, by unlawfully removing a quantity of black rectangular plastic packages containing a plant-like substance, resembling marijuana, which was lodged as an exhibit in the Strong Room of the Barataria Police Station, and replacing them with similar packages containing red bricks, styrofoam, and grass.”
The TTPS said it “takes any allegation of misconduct by its members seriously and reaffirms its commitment to transparency, accountability, and public trust.”
More on this as it becomes available.
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