A occupational health and safety officer, employed with a Point Lisas-based steel manufacturing company, will appear before a Port-of-Spain magistrate later today on cocaine trafficking charges. The 46-year-old Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) specialist was arrested on Saturday afternoon in Aranguez. Police officers said that the man was in possession of almost one kilogram of cocaine.
According to police, around 2 pm, the man's vehicle was intercepted along the Aranguez Main Road by officers of the North Eastern Division Task Force led by Cpl Sunil Bharath. The illegal drugs were found hidden under the front passenger seat and are said to have an street value of $36,000.
After his arrest, the man, who resides in Maraval, told police that he had purchased the drugs earlier that day. However, he declined to reveal the source of the drugs. He was taken to the Morvant Police Station where he was later charged under the Dangerous Drugs Act for possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking. Involved in the exercise was PCs Jerome Gordon, Trevor Rambaran and Lorenzo Lezama. (DA)