CUMUTO — The Trinidad and Tobago Police Service launched an investigation after 56 bodies, including 50 infants, were discovered dumped at a cemetery in the town of Cumuto, about 40 kilometers east of Port of Spain. Of the remaining six bodies, four were adult males and two were adult females, according to police.

The discovery was announced in a statement by the police service. Cumuto police secured the scene and began a forensic examination, and specialized units including homicide experts were deployed to the site.

All of the adult bodies had identification tags similar to those used in morgues, police said, and five of them had toe tags. One adult male body and one adult female body showed signs of having undergone an autopsy.

The police service said in its statement: "Preliminary indications suggest that this may be a case involving the unlawful disposal of unclaimed corpses." The improper disposal of human remains is a criminal offence in Trinidad and Tobago.

Forensic analysis is underway to determine the origin of the remains and any associated breaches of law or procedure, police said. The police service said it deployed homicide experts and other specialized units as part of the ongoing inquiry.

"Every cadaver must be handled with dignity and lawful care," Police Commissioner Allister Guevarro said. "Any individual or institution found to have violated that duty will be held fully accountable."

The investigation is taking place during a national state of emergency declared in December 2024 to combat gang violence. The initial duration of the measure was 15 days, but it has remained in place since. In March 2026, the House of Representatives voted to extend the state of emergency by three months; by that month, 373 people had been detained under it.

The homicide rate in Trinidad and Tobago was about 20 per 100,000 people in 2020 and rose to a record 45.7 per 100,000 in 2024. In 2025, the rate declined to about 27 per 100,000 people.