Snr Supt: No arrests at 'perfect' Tobago carnival

Tobago Snr Supt Junior Benjamin has said no arrests were made during the island’s inaugural carnival celebrations.

The festivities were held from October 28-30, with thousands of visitors from Trinidad and other parts of the world flocking to the island.

In an interview with Newsday on Tuesday, Benjamin said: “Everything went according to plan – no one was locked up, for anything at all. There was police presence all over, it was as perfect as can be.”

He noted that approximately 145 officers were sent from Trinidad to assist, as he gave his commendations.

“As the police, we did our part. I think we did pretty well given those situations. I am very pleased with my officers and the work that they did over the carnival period – extremely proud of them.”

Questioned about the traffic congestion observed during the J’Ouvert celebrations, much to the disapproval of revellers, Benjamin said the Crown Point venue needs to be reconsidered. At approximately 9:30am, police ended the revelry by stopping the music, but exiting the area proved to be a nightmare for eastbound drivers, who remained in gridlock traffic for several hours.

“That is not the place to put it. There is absolutely nothing we could have done for that – they need to move it from Canaan/ Crown Point. It is too big for Canaan/ Crown Point."

He said the parade of the bands also stalled. “It wasn’t moving anywhere. Even when the first band came down the road and they meet to the end, they were supposed to go to the (Store Bay) Heritage Park – they went nowhere.”