Cops: Discarded projectiles are not warheads

The Police Service (TTPS) says the items found in the Godineau River on September 22, have not been identified as war heads.

They have also thanked the fishermen who discovered the 22 discarded missiles for coming forward with the find.

A release on September 24 said while initial reports pointed to the discovery being military munitions, a team of specialists from the TTPS' Explosive Detection and Disposal Unit “Bomb Squad," with the assistance of international partners, were able to identify them as parts belonging to concrete piercing tools used in the construction industry.

It said officers of the Southern, South Western Divisions and Coastal and Air Support Unit led by Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Wayne Mystar visited the scene and discovered several 'cylindrical projectiles' among the rocks on the banks of the Godineau River in the vicinity of the Godineau Bridge at Mosquito Creek, Oropouche.

The TTPS said a number of major components for the functioning of the items were not present but, in the interest of public safety, the items were seized and removed from the site.

The police service thanked the members of the public for the information about the find and urged the public to continue to support the organisation in its work.

Speaking to Newsday on the condition of anonymity on September 23, one of the fishermen who discovered the ordnances said they were surprised and terrified by the find. He was, however, thankful they were the ones who discovered them as he believed others may have sought to use or sell them to criminal elements.

ACP Mystar told Newsday investigators were working with the theory that the ordnances were left over from highway works in the area.