Police arrest nine, seize guns, ammo in two days

Police arrested nine suspects, seized five firearms and stopped the robbery of a warehouse during various anti-crime exercises around the country between Friday and Saturday.

In a police statement on Saturday, in the North Eastern Division, around 12.30 am on Friday, officers of the Barataria Criminal Investigations Department were on mobile patrol when they responded to a message from Command Centre about a man on the premises of a warehouse on Coronation Street, San Juan.

When the officers arrived, they saw several people removing items from the building. A 23-year-old suspect of Oudan Trace, San Juan, was assisting police with enquiries into the robbery. Police are actively searching for the other bandits.

A few hours later around 3.30 am, officers of the South Western Division were conducting a stop-and-search exercise on the Southern Main Road, South Oropouche, when they stopped a silver Nissan Tiida, with three occupants.

When they searched the car, the officers found a camouflage-coloured bag with one Glock 19 pistol fitted with one magazine and seven rounds of nine-millimetre ammunition. The three were arrested and taken to the Fyzabad Police Station.

In the Southern Division, officers received information that “a known offender” was suspected of having a gun. They went to Padmore Street, Gulf View, and saw the suspect under a streetlight.

The officers called out to the suspect, he ran and the officers chased him. They saw the suspect remove a bag from across his chest and drop it. One officer collected the bag while the other officers continued the chase but the suspect got away.

The bag contained one Glock 17 pistol and 15 rounds of nine-millimetre ammunition.

Around 3.35 pm, while on a drug/gang violence reduction exercise in the North Central Division, officers received a report from Command Centre of armed men on St John's Road, St Augustine, near the Community Centre.

When they arrived, they saw a man fitting the description they were given and searched him. In the suspect’s bag they found a black IMI Israel Uzi pistol with 14 rounds of nine-millimetre ammunition.

The man from Bassanta Trace, St Augustine, was arrested and taken to the Tunapuna Police Station. Also arrested in a separate incident was a suspect in shooting and gang-related enquires from Monte Grande, Tunapuna.

In the Eastern Division on Friday between 2 pm and 5 pm, acting on information, officers stopped and searched a bronze-coloured Nissan B13 car during roving road check exercises in Valencia. Officers found one Berretta Pistol with one magazine containing 15 rounds of nine millimetre ammunition on of the car’s occupants and both men were arrested.

On Saturday around 10 am, Northern Division Emergency Response Patrol officers were on mobile patrol when they stoped and searched a La Horquetta man near Red Castle, Maloney. They found one revolver with two rounds of ammunition tucked in his waist and the suspect was detained.

Enquiries were continuing into all the incidents.