Mark Bassant
EIGHT men have been detained by police for a number of violent crimes following a ten-hour exercise in the Pleasantville area, on the outskirts of San Fernando, this morning.
"These men have been held for very serious crimes, which include kidnapping and robberies," a senior member of the Special Operations Response Team(SORT) told Guardian Media at the end of the exercise.
The suspects are from north and south Trinidad.
During the operation in which several homes along Oleander Drive were searched, police recovered three stolen vehicles as well as a quantity of army and police uniforms.
Their door-to-door search also uncovered a quantity of narcotics. Sources said the drugs were tightly wrapped, so they were unable to say with any certainty whether it was marijuana, cocaine, or both.
During the intensive operation police also found three firearms—two pistols and a machine gun.
Sources say they believe the suspects had been operating in the southern area for quite a while and were part of an organised crime gang.
The last time SORT was involved in a key operation was on December 4 when four people were arrested with close to $4 million in drugs at a Westmoorings apartment.