Buyers, beware! Penalties could be involved if you're purchasing items being peddled by gang members, Attorney General Anand Ramlogan warned yesterday. Speaking in the Senate, Ramlogan said receiving stolen goods from gang-related activity was one of several areas which would attract penalties under the upcoming anti-gang legislation. He said the law was also meant to discourage those thinking of entering gangs. A joint select committee report on the legislation was under debate in the Upper House yesterday in tandem with a bail amendment bill. Ramlogan said this was necessary since gang members on bail often terrorised and intimidated prosecution witnesses.
Ramlogan said there must be responsibility to ensure any goods purchased/obtained from people comes from legitimate means. "So if you buying a thick gold chain from someone you know doesn't have a job or is part of the criminal system, you're equally guilty," Ramlogan said. "Gangs seem to have parallel gangs with supply and distribution lines to sell fruits of their illegal activity and get back hard cash-all of this will be subject to the law under the legislation," Ramlogan added. Ramlogan said that the days were gone forever when one could say-as late Prime Minister Dr Eric Williams did-that the future of the nation lies in the schoolbags of the youth. He said children's schoolbags now hold knives, guns and drugs.
With teenage indiscipline being the first step towards gang membership, Ramlogan said the bill held stiff penalties for gang recruitment outside schools and institutions. These include ten years' jail for being outside 500 yards of such places and 20 years for being closer.The bill also aims to deal with people claiming to be from religious or other groups who attempt to extort money from business people with the threat of kidnapping.Ramlogan said this problem existed in central Trinidad for a "very long time." He said culprits often offered to call off the kidnapping for a large "mobilisation fee." Penalties are also in place to curb the continuation of the gang cycle of "blood in, blood out".
This involves the pattern of having to kill someone to gain entry to a gang and price of death a gang member may have to pay if they try to leave a gang. Ramlogan said the bill also held penalties for use of imitation guns.PNM Senator Fitzgerald Hinds, replying, said he thought the Government would have seen fit to deal with the situation also by facilitating payments to victims of gangs from the Criminals Injuries Compensation Board. Hinds accused Government of hampering the detection and detention of criminals when the Prime Minister revealed security agencies' work recently. "Why is Government showing such hostility to law enforcement? Hinds added.
He said PSA head Watson Duke was not the only one under siege. He said by definition (which he read out), the Government could be construed as a "gang" also. He also questioned what had become of the records of gangs kept by the Security Intelligence Agency (SIA) Hinds said T&T's gang problem was very serious. He noted other parts of T&T, as well as Laventille. He said he knew of families who had to flee their homes and he had once counselled a woman who had been gang-raped. Hinds said the woman refused to go to the police since the gang had threatened her home and relatives.