DCP Martin: We are not at war with citizens

DEPUTY Commissioner of Police Suzette Martin assured the public that the state of emergency (SoE) does not signal a war against the community, but against the criminal elements that threaten them.

She gave the assurance that the police were not at war with citizens during a telephone call with Newsday on January 5.

Martin provided an update on the results of the police action taken since the declaration of the SoE on December 30.

“Our focus is to target key criminals and the seizure of illegal firearms, ammunition and contraband.

“We are also taking this opportunity to strengthen our community partnership by engaging with the community. We are trying to build that trust so we can gather valuable information that would help in the fight against crime.

“I know some people may have been inconvenienced but it is all for the good of TT. We are not in a fight against the public. This SoE is not a war against the community. Our focus is the forces that threaten the community.”

In a media release on January 4, Commissioner of Police Erla Harewood-Christopher said 126 people were arrested in the first five days of the SoE while 17 guns and 675 rounds of assorted ammunition were seized.

Claiming that “the fight is just getting started,” Harewood-Christopher said the powers granted under SoE gave the police the ability to push back against gang and gun violence.

On January 5, Martin said updated figures are still being tallied but several people have been charged while others were still being processed or had been released.

Several more arrests were made and weapons, ammunition and drugs have been seized over the weekend.

In the Western division officers of the western division gang intelligence unit, during a police exercise between 3 pm-11 pm on January 4, searched three drug blocks and suspicious vehicles on Gokool Street.

Police went near the African Cemetery where a white plastic bag containing 169.9 grams of marijuana was found.

Police also searched a drain between Gokool Street and Factory Road where a plastic bag was found with 13 rounds of 9mm ammunition.

In another exercise in the Western Division between 10.50 pm on January 4 and 2 am on January 5, Western Division officers in an SoE exercise searched the home of a suspected drug dealer at his home on Johnson Drive, Bagatelle. During the search they found three clear bags containing marijuana with a total weight of 177.36 grams.

The man was arrested in connection to the find.

Officers also went to St James and conducted a search of an alleged drug offender at Alfred Richards Street. Police found several plastic bags containing marijuana weighing a total of 211.02 grams. The man was arrested in connection to the find.

In the Northeast, police searched a bushy area on the Stephenville Main Road and found 10 rounds of 9mm ammunition.

Officers also conducted searches between 3 pm and 7.30 pm in the San Juan district where the homes of two men in Goose Lane, El Socorro were searched.

One search resulted in the discovery of 496 grams of marijuana, while the other resulted in the discovery of 347 grams of marijuana. Both men were arrested in connection to the finds.

In the Northern Division exercises which aimed to disrupt gang activity in Maloney resulted in searches of three occupied apartments and four abandoned apartments.

One gun was found stashed under a sink in one of the abandoned apartments. Police said the gun was loaded with 17 rounds of ammunition. A Sherwood Park, Arima man was also arrested for driving without a DP.