Vendors among 15 arrested in Operation Capital Strike

A JOINT exercise by the municipal police and various police units saw 12 people arrested in Port of Spain on Thursday.

Three were also charged for street-vending offences.

The exercise, Operation Capital Strike, saw municipal police, the Canine Unit, the CID/Criminal Records Office and traffic wardens stop and search almost 130 people, among other activities.

Municipal officer WPC Lawrence told Newsday ,while the exercise was ongoing, Operation Capital Strike is designed to "toughen up" on crime-fighting in municipalities, while sensitising the public to issues like gender-based and domestic violence within the districts.

At the Brian Lara Promenade on Thursday morning, municipal police officers and police attached to the Gender Based Violence Unit and Victim and Witness Support Unit interacted with the public, distributing brochures on such topics.

It is a relatively new initiative taken by the municipal police, which started recently in San Fernando. The operation is said to be an indefinite one.

In part of the exercise, one person in possession of over $30,000 was detained at Sawmill Avenue, Barataria.

Responding to a tip-off in St Ann's, police carried out a raid and seized 80 cannabis trees and 25 seedlings, with an estimated $80,000 street value. No one was detained in that find.

Fixed-penalty notices were issued to 109 people, mostly in and around Port of Spain.

One person was arrested for driving without a permit and another for using unauthorised premises as a common gaming house. Six warrants to appear in court were executed and another two people were held on outstanding warrants.

Two vehicles were impounded as the drivers had no insurance certificates.