Four charged, nine arrested for guns, ammunition, drugs

FOUR men appeared in court and were charged with gun-related offences on September 16. In other incidents, nine others were arrested for gun and narcotics possession on September 17.

Andrew Charles, Brandon Ramlal and Kirtly Garcia, all of La Romaine and Terrance Thomas of South Oropouche were all charged with possession of firearms and possession of ammunition when they appeared before Master Margaret Sookraj-Goswami on September 16.

Charles also faced an additional charge of driving without a driver's permit. The four men pleaded not guilty to the charges and were granted bail of $300,000 each. They were remanded into custody.

The matter was postponed to October 16 in the Siparia First Magistrates' Court.

The charges arose from investigations into a report of possession of firearms and ammunition made on September 11.

On September 17, Central Division police went to Albert Trace, Caroni Village, around noon where they saw a white Toyota Aqua with three men parked in a yard.

The police searched the Aqua and found a revolver with five rounds of ammunition.

The three men in the car, along with five others who were in the yard, were arrested.

A police check found the Toyota Aqua was reported stolen in the St Joseph district on September 11. The car also had fake registration plates.

Central division police of the Gang and Intelligence Unit held an exercise between 4-7 pm on September 17.

They went to Mt Stewart Village, Princes Town, where they arrested a 44-year-old man for possession of a quantity of cocaine.

Police also found four rounds of ammunition hidden in a plastic bag in the area.

In the Southern Division police from the San Fernando Crime Patrol Unit held an exercise between 1-3.30 am on September 18.

They found a quantity of cannabis in the bush near Panco Lane. The police also found one firearm and a magazine loaded with one round of ammunition in an abandoned lot of land at Leandre Street.

Investigations are ongoing into all of the above matters.