(Trinidad Express) Blanchisseuse police yesterday during an early morning exercise unearthed a cache of arms and ammunition which was buried in a forested area off Rincon Road, Las Cuevas.
The weapons consisted of 14 high-powered weapons which included shotguns, rifles and submachine guns, 17 firearm magazines for various weapons and in excess of 10,000 round of assorted ammunition.
The find is the largest in one raid to be confiscated by police since the State of Emergency was announced on August 21 by Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar.
So far, the North Eastern Division (NED) has seized in excess of 25 illegal firearms which is the highest seizure among the nine policing divisions. The North Eastern Division Task Force, headed by Sgt Roger Alexander, Sgt Cornelius Samuel and Cpl Darryl La Pierre, has also been instrumental in recovering several arms and ammunition throughout the country.
Officers, led by Sgt Stephen Dowridge of the Blanchisseuse Police Station, also found a flare gun, two bullet-proof vests which had the regimental numbers of two police officers, a ski mask and a small quantity of compressed marijuana in the Las Cuevas raid.
The ammunition discovered consists of 7.62, which are used in SLRs; 303 which are used in rifles; 5.56 which are used in AK-47 and Galil rifles; shotgun cartridges; .45, .40, .380, 9mm pistols and .357 and .45 revolvers. The items were found by police using metal detectors during a marijuana eradication exercise in the area.
The cache, Supt John Daniel of the North Eastern Division said, was found wrapped in newspapers and plastic and buried some two miles into a forested area off Rincon Road.
“My officers, during a routine exercise, found this dangerous haul of arms and ammunition in Las Cuevas between 4.a.m and 9.a.m. We, at the North Eastern Division, are pleased to report that 14 high-powered weapons and an assortment of more than 10,000 rounds of ammunition were taken off the streets,” he said.
“We will continue with our efforts … to clean up the streets in our division and any other division, when a situation arises, and we will do this with the highest professional standards,” Daniel told the Express while examining the weapons at the Blanchisseuse Police Station.
Members of the Defence Force have set up a temporary base at the La Fillette Community Centre since the SoE was announced, approximately two miles from where the items were found,
Police are working on the theory that the weapons and ammunition belonged to a well-known drug and arms dealer within the North Eastern Division.
National Security Minister Brigadier John Sandy, at yesterday’s daily briefing at the Diplomatic Centre, St Ann’s, regarding operations conducted during the state of emergency, described the seizure as a huge success.
Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of Anti-Crime Operations, Mervyn Richardson, commenting on the seizure, thanked the officers involved in the recovery of the weapons.
In the same breath, Richardson, during a brief telephone interview last evening, called on criminals to hand in their illegal weapons or notify the police on the locations of illegal arms and ammo and drugs before it’s too late.
“We have seen today (yesterday) one of the biggest hauls in the history of the nation, which is a signal to all gangsters and would-be gangsters that we will hunt them down relentlessly wherever they hide. We will seek them out; we will do what is necessary within the law to being them to justice.
“There is no room for such persons and firearms in this country and people. They should know that the protective services and the police officers will wage a relentless war on all those involved in crime and criminal activities.”
He added, “If anybody has guns outside there—illegal guns—we ask them to turn them in. Turn them in now before it is too late and we will be happy to collect them but as long as anyone possesses an illegal firearm, and we know, we will continue to pursue them until we recover these items.
“I’m impressed by the commitment to duty by all police officers and indeed members of the protective services. I also want to extend my hearty congratulations to all the officers of the North Eastern Division, particularly those at the Blanchisseuse Police Station, who were involved in recovering that haul. I am proud I wish to commend them for a job well done,” Richardson said.
Richardson also thanked members of the public for passing on information to the police which would have resulted in several seizures across the country as the police seek to rebuild confidence and trust by members of the public.
