More than 400 police officers swooped down on residents of John John, Laventille, yesterday locking down the area as part of the T&T Police Service "taking back the community" crime initiative. A total of 75 people were held. Police claimed some of the arrested people were gang leaders. Others held were being sought in connection with outstanding warrants, possession of ammunition, narcotics and other various offences. A quantity of marijuana, ammunition, shotgun cartridges and four stolen vehicles also were recovered. T-shirts, belonging to the Police Service, Defence Force, and San Fernando City Police Corporation, were seized in the exercise which began at about 3 am. The officers searched vehicles, houses and pedestrians from Plaisance Terrace to Picton Road and other areas of John John. Police Commissioner Dwayne Gibbs said it was part of the "bringing back the communities" initiative.
He added: "We will continue to go into different hotspots, such as this one, and lead in crime prevention. This is part of the crime strategy to deal with crime in various hotspots. "We have to look at sustainability through a new way of policing and effective policing." When questioned about the lack of manpower at stations during these exercises, Gibbs said: "The focus is on the operations." He said investigations also were continuing into the sexual assault of two Canadian women in west Trinidad. He said: "Violent crime is an outrage and horrendous. We are out there and we don't take this lightly." He said citizens should take appropriate action to ensure their personal safety. During the raid a semi-automatic Luger pistol, with eight rounds of ammunition, was seized at Harpe Place, Observatory Street. Port-of-Spain. A suspect in his mid-20s was arrested.