More than 30 soldiers from the T&T Defence Force and the Special Anti-Crime Unit (Sautt) swooped down on King's Wharf, San Fernando at midday yesterday and searched squatter shacks, storage sheds and boats moored along the shoreline. Two men were arrested and an illegal firearm seized. The officers also recovered narcotics, fireworks and other items. The soldiers cordoned off the street at three vantage points and prevented members of the public and the media from entering the area. The ramshackle huts which lined the shore, were searched thoroughly by the lawmen who were assisted by sniffer dogs.
Many of the fishermen who store equipment in the boat houses said they were concerned that their belongings would be damaged. Jairam Rampersad, who stores coolers, boat engines and other fishing gear said he offered to open the huts for the soldiers. "I didn't want them to break the locks but they said they could not allow that. Now we will have to buy new locks," Rampersad said. He added that the raids came without warning. "It's a good thing that I am here because they would have left the sheds open and people would have stolen our engines and nets," Rampersad said. Another fisherman, Clint Smith, said he, too, would have to buy locks. "I don't know what they looking for.
It have nothing in there," Smith said. Another fisherman, Stephen Taylor, said he had a sum of money hidden in his shed. "I am worried if it will still be there when I get there. I hope I don't lose my money," Taylor said. Soldiers remained tight-lipped about the results of the raid. One of the arrested men insisted that he did nothing wrong as he was led away to the army truck. He was placed on the floor of the vehicle. The raids are expected to continue as the Government sought to extend the state of emergency in Parliament yesterday.