Police arrest 8, seize guns, ammo, drugs

POLICE have continued their searches during the state of emergency (SoE) over January 13 and 14, leading to a number of arrests, and a gun, a quantity of marijuana and ammunitions being seized.

Police said around 4.15 pm on January 14, during a routine traffic exercise on the southbound lane of the Uriah Butler Highway, Chaguanas, a Volkswagen Passat was stopped to check its tint compliance.

The behaviour of the occupants of the car raised the police's suspicion and they searched the car.

This led to their finding 20 packets of compressed marijuana, with a total weight of 11.76 kilogrammes. It had an estimated street value of $1,760,060.

The car's occupants were arrested and are assisting police with their investigations.

Over in Tobago and in the Western Division on January 13, three men were arrested, with a gun, a quantity of ammunition and drugs being seized.

Police said between 10 pm and 11.50 pm on January 13 an operation in Tobago led to a vehicle with three men being stopped.

Police searched the grey Mazda 3 and found a Sarsilmaz B6C pistol with a magazine containing 11 rounds of 9mm ammunition and 200 grammes of weed.

The three men, aged 22 and 24, from Lambeau Road, Signal Hill, and 29, from Harmony Hall, Mt Grace, were arrested.

Earlier in the day, police from the Western Division searched two abandoned properties on Kandahar Street in St James.

They found and seized an AR-15 magazine.

Also on January 13, five more men were arrested across several divisions, with more drugs being seized.

Police said around 11.20 pm in Tobago, police visited a house in Zion Hill, Belle Garden, approximately 270 metres from a primary school.

They found 13 fully grown cannabis plants and 20 seedlings planted in growing bags, styrofoam cups and buckets.

A further search found three uprooted cannabis plants drying on a clothesline inside the property.

A 58-year-old male occupant of the house was arrested. He is expected to be charged with possession of cannabis for the purpose of trafficking and cultivation of cannabis.

The total weight of the seized drugs was 570 grammes.

Police also went to Samaroo Village in Arima between 1 pm and 11 pm on January 13.

They found four tampered panel vans and two tampered red-band maxi-taxis at an auto-repair business.

Two men, 43 and 46, were arrested.

The officers then went to the Eastern Main Road, Tunapuna, where they arrested two men, 34 and 38, for possession of cannabis.

Police said investigations are ongoing into all these matters.