Reputed Rasta City gang members arrested in Belmont raid

Police detained 51 suspected gang members during a raid in Belmont on Friday evening.

The arrests came days after violent protests in the Port of Spain and several other areas over the police killing of three men in Morvant. The government and the police said the protests were co-ordinated by criminal gangs.

Police Commissioner Gary Griffith has confirmed information that two of the warring criminal gangs, Rasta City and the Muslim gangs, have called a truce over the police killings and have joined forces to battle the police.

According to police, they received information that senior members of the one of gangs had convened at a house located at the corner of Regent Street and Belle Eau Road.

Police said members of the Special Investigations Unit's intelligence office received information that key members of the gang based in Sea Lots and East Port of Spain were at the location. A video shared on social media claimed gunshots were heard during the police exercise but one lawyer disputed the claim saying that several lawyers were also present at the meeting.

Officers of Belmont CID and the Port of Spain Task Force with assistance from the Inter Agency Task Force, Special Operations Response Team and the Port of Spain Division responded to the intelligence and detained the suspects.

No information was immediately available on whether the suspects will be charged for any offence, including breaching the Public Health regulations, by gathering in numbers larger than 25 people.