Why not use radar to catch drug crooks?

THE EDITOR: I commend the commissioner of police and the entire police service for the large drug discoveries over the past few days. The commissioner and the government, both in sync and in similar fashion, praised "the radar" as the key element in the operations.

I saw a video of the commissioner explaining why no one was arrested during the Caroni Swamp exercise, the reason being the perpetrators would have been informed that police officers were on site so there was no use in conducting a sting operation to cause his officers to get dengue.

I have little knowledge of policing or intelligence tactics, but the question that arises is if the radar located the drugs remotely (I assume that's what a radar does), would it not have been prudent to continue the surveillance utilising said radar in order to arrest the individuals when they returned for their huge stash?

The explanation for the non-arrests does not sit well with the common man. In order to make a dent in the importation of narcotics and illegal items, the individuals responsible must be arrested and prosecuted. Without those the police as well as the government will have a never-ending battle against criminal elements.

I genuinely praise the officers who were involved in taking the drugs off the streets and for that reason the risk to a few officers conducting a sting operation now, in order to arrest the criminals involved, may perhaps save the lives of many, including officers later on.

If people have the capabilities to bring this much drugs into the country, it may be reasonable to think that this is not their first rodeo and most likely will not be their last. Intelligence-led policing is crucial and compulsory for progress.

NIGEL SEENATHSINGH

via e-mail