Police in Trinidad on Friday raided a home and shot dead a man suspected of running guns between that island nation and Venezuela. The only thing was, the man Stephan Sandiford, 32, was by all accounts shot dead by police along with two other thieves on December 20 last year. Then, police reported that he was shot, fell into a swollen river and floated out to sea, never to be found. He was memorialised by his family with his mother expressly stating that  she had never seen him again, and that no one could have survived that day.

On this occasion police can confirm the man is dead. He died in a Trinidad hospital on Friday while doctors tried to stop his bleeding as a result of his bullet wounds. Doctors also confirmed that the victim  had an old gunshot injury, that indicated a bullet had went through the abdomen and exited through his buttocks. Based on the bandage wrapping the wound, police believe he had been treated by doctors in Venezuela.

Police say that with his death they believe they have made progress in the fight against the smuggling of guns and drugs into Trinidad from the south.