For­mer Na­tion­al Se­cu­ri­ty min­is­ter Stu­art Young has dis­missed claims by Prime Min­is­ter Kam­la Per­sad-Bisses­sar that gang lead­ers were grouped to­geth­er in Build­ing 13 at the Max­i­mum Se­cu­ri­ty Prison dur­ing his tenure. He said the in­mates were kept sep­a­rate and were not al­lowed to in­ter­act.

Speak­ing at a press brief­ing at the of­fice of the Op­po­si­tion Leader at Charles Street, Port-of-Spain, yes­ter­day, Young de­fend­ed the de­ci­sion to utilise Build­ing 13. He said the ini­tia­tive was de­vel­oped dur­ing his time as Na­tion­al Se­cu­ri­ty min­is­ter in col­lab­o­ra­tion with the Com­mis­sion­er of Pris­ons, the Com­mis­sion­er of Po­lice, and oth­er of­fi­cials.

“Pris­ons are un­der con­trol by the prison of­fi­cers, and it worked. Un­for­tu­nate­ly, and I can even say that in the util­i­sa­tion of it and putting some of these lead­ers in­to Build­ing 13 sep­a­rate­ly, they were not al­lowed to meet to­geth­er, and it worked for a time.