By Darryl Heeralal, Express TT

NATIONAL intelligence officials met yesterday amid reports that a local radical Muslim group is planning to attack United States and British interests here with chemical and biological weapons.

Following an exclusive report in yesterday's Sunday Express that the group claimed to have in its possession chemical and biological weapons, the head of the Police Special Branch, ACP Frank Diaz, met with his top brass from the unit to discuss the report.

The Special Branch is this country's premier intelligence-gathering agency.

The Express understands that the army intelligence unit also met to discuss the report. Chief of Defence of Staff (CDS) Brigadier Ancil Antoine is confident that the army can deal with any possible attacks.

In a telephone interview yesterday Antoine said that the army had “contingency plans in place” but added that he could not reveal any of these plans.

The CDS said he was unaware of the group or its alleged activities.

However, a Ministry of Health official told the Express that public health institutions would not be able to cope with any type of large-scale chemical attacks “simply because we are not fully equipped to deal with it”.

There are chemical burns units at the Couva District Hospitals and at Petrotrin's Augustus Long Hospital “but this would not be able to deal with any large-scale attack”.

Yesterday, Health Minister Colm Imbert said he would have to meet with the various heads of departments in the ministry before he could give any answer on the preparedness of public health institutions to deal with a chemical or biological attack.

Meanwhile, Energy Minister Eric Williams said he was in “absolutely no position to comment”.

US and British interests here include the billion-dollar operations of BP and British Gas in the oil and gas sector.

Top brass Special Branch officers said yesterday that they were unaware of the group's activities and in fact were in the dark over plans to attack US and British interests using chemical and weapons.

Last week this newspaper was taken to one of the secret “labs” and shown several “organic and inorganic chemical compounds” including wax-based materials, pellets, powders and granular substances.

A spokesman for the group said the various substances are used to make explosives, toxins and lethal gases.

The group said it wanted to demonstrate to Prime Minister Patrick Manning and to the rest of the world the seriousness of its intentions.

Yesterday a Special Branch source said the reported threats are being investigated.

Manning and his National Security Minister Howard Chin Lee could not be contacted yesterday for comment.

Several calls were put through to the Prime Ministers residence and messages left but none of the calls were returned while Chin Lee's cellphone was turned off.

When the Express called the home of Police Commissioner Hilton Guy we were told that he was not available.