Security guard robbed, beaten at Orange Valley Fish Market

COUVA North MP Ravi Ratiram has repeated a call he made two years ago to National Security Minister Fitzgerald Hinds for a Coast Guard base in his constituency.

In a statement on September 20, Ratiram said he was renewing his call after an incident on September 21, when a security guard was assaulted and robbed by masked intruders at the Orange Valley Wholesale Fish Market.

He said this might not have happened if there were a Coast Guard base in the constituency and if the police's coastal and riverine unit had a presence there.

"For more than two years, I have implored this PNM Government to take our security seriously and to fulfil their promise of a Coast Guard presence in our area. Yet nothing has been done. Our citizens deserve better."

Ratiram also said there have been home invasions and break-ins in Carlsen Field and other areas which are affecting farmers.

"Farmers work tirelessly to feed our nation, and now they are being victimised in their own homes. This is unacceptable.

"How many more lives need to be endangered before this administration takes action? We need a Coast Guard base here now to deter criminal activity and protect our communities."

In March 2022, Ratiram called for a Coast Guard base in the constituency after two fishing boats were destroyed in an arson attack at the Carli Bay fishing facility.