Arima man held with homemade gun in maxi taxi

AN ARIMA man who was a passenger in a maxi taxi, was arrested after police intercepted the vehicle and found him armed with a homemade firearm and two rounds of ammunition on Thursday night.

Police said Arima CID officers and their Northern Division Task Force colleagues, received certain information and later intercepted a 24-seater red-band maxi taxi near Boys Lane in D'Abadie, at around 8.15 pm.

Police searched the man who was holding a food container which contained the makeshift pistol with a bullet in its chamber. Police also found a cigarette pack which contained one round of 5.56 mm ammunition.

The man who is from Samaroo Village, was taken to the Arima police station where he interrogated and is expected to be charged with possession of a firearm, possession of ammunition, possession of a firearm to endanger life and possession of ammunition to endanger life.

In an unrelated incident, police acting on information, went to a bushy area in Wallerfield where they found 20 rounds of ammunition hidden under a pile of rubble. The officers also found and seized 120 grams of marijuana and two packets of cocaine. No one was arrested and investigations are continuing.