Residents: It happened under our noses

LATE Thursday night and into the break of dawn yesterday, when heavily masked police descended upon Macaya Trace, off Monroe Road in Cunupia, residents said they knew their suspicions of illegal activities were about to be confirmed. Residents, none of whom wanted to be publicly identified, said the area is normally quiet. However, in the past few months, it appeared that there were clandestine activities in the area.

“The place is quiet. Yesterday (Thursday) was the first time in about three years I saw a police vehicle passing in the street. We suspected something illegal might be taking place but were not sure what it was. In recent times, we started to see strange people in and out. We know something was not right,” said a resident.

Yesterday, in a sting operation coordinated by Commissioner of Police Gary Griffith, police recovered high- powered guns and many illegal drugs at a house at Macaya Trace. Police from the Special Operations Response Team and the Strategic Services Agency and the Canine Unit detained two men.

Most residents stayed indoors during the operation and some said the large bust came as a surprise.

“We did not want to think something so big was happening right under our noses. We are seeing large houses going up in a short space of time. A resident saw a man with a high-powered rifle, outfitted with a scope, doing target practice with bottles. This is scary,” another resident said.

For several hours, police locked down the street checking out vehicles and occupants entering and exiting. Several residents expressed shock at the police discovery.

“I am glad police are cleaning up the area. Those guns have one use — to kill people. I commend the police for what they did,” another resident said. For hours, a team from Newsday waited to get a glimpse of police escorting the two suspects.

Police walked out one of the suspects from the house. He was wearing a white vest, and masked police put a bulletproof vest on him before putting him in a heavily tinted unmarked police vehicle.