Dillon: Cops have plan to deal with gangs

NATIONAL Security Minister Edmund Dillon said the police have a plan to deal with criminal gang activity in the Port of Spain area. In the House of Representatives yesterday, Dillon said, “While there have been recent homicides in the Beetham and Belmont areas, the TT Police Service (TTPS) is not aware of any gang war pending in the Port of Spain Division.”

He said Port of Spain Division police have “a clear plan of action designed to deal with criminal activities, including those related to gangs.”

The division is supported by other arms of the TTPS such as the Inter-Agency Task Force and the Guard and Emergency Branch, he added. Dillon also said four Trinidadians have been detained in Iraq. “Three are serving 20-year sentences for crimes committed. One is awaiting trial.”

Government, Dillon continued, provided no legal services to these people and “none was requested” by them. He said watermelon vendor Brandon Samaroo, who was murdered last month, was not in the witness protection programme. Dillon explained witnesses needed to volunteer to be in the programme.

He also warned that people involved in the ill-treatment and exploitation of Venezuelan immigrants in TT will face “ a sentence of imprisonment and the forefeiture of assets” when they are caught.

Dillon said his ministry continues to collaborate with other government ministries and the Director of Public Prosecutions to bring those people to justice.