Dealers' head: No battery buying, scrap iron buying without licence

Vice president of the Scrap Iron Dealers Association (SIDA) Eross Seejattan is pleading with unlicensed scrap metal dealers to get licensed or stop work.

Seejattan made the plea during a press conference on Wednesday at Signature Hall, Chaguanas.

“The law clearly states that in order to buy or sell any type of scrap metal, you must be licensed.

“It has continuously been brought to our attention that there are people plying the trade without the appropriate licences,” said Seejattan.

He compared the operations of unlicensed scrap metal traders to those of unlicensed bar owners.

When these people get in trouble with the law, Seejattan said, they often seek assistance from the association. But he warned them that no help will be given.

“We also understand that some of the employees of the big licensed (scrap metal) yards are taking it upon themselves to open yards on the side without licences…this is illegal. If you work for a licensed entity, you are not able to do business on your own without a proper licence.”

Seejattan called on the owners of licensed scrap metal yards to give a stern warning to workers who engage in such activities.

He also claimed there are exporters in Trinidad and Tobago who are sending old shipping containers to illegal yards which legitimise their operations.

“It is our intention to report these activities to higher authorities to stop them,” added Seejattan.

For their safety and credibility, Seejattan is asking licensed scrap metal dealers with vans not to enter people’s property without permission. He said these actions can be confused with unlicensed individuals who enter yards and take scrap metal in crimes of opportunity.

“Most of the guys doing this (entering people’s property without permission)…are not people that do this for a living.

“These are people who commit a crime, like any other criminal who do a crime, when they get an opportunity.”

If a scrap metal dealer enters someone’s property, Seejattan said, it was the right of the property owner to ask for proper ID.

He asked for the public’s help in the fight against unlicensed scrap metal dealers.

If people encounter an unlicensed dealer, Seejattan advised them to make notes about the individual and then report them to the association or police.