Western Division officers have seized a quantity of arms and ammunition and arrested several suspects, among them a 15-year-old boy.
The arrests took place during a raid in Diego Martin, Paramin and Maraval, on Wednesday night. They have linked the haul to gang violence in Maraval. Superintendent Ishmael David said his officers also were concerned with the violence and have put measures in place to tackle the problem. David was speaking at yesterday's daily police news conference at the West End Police Station. He also said several suspects were held during the operation. The items seized were: Five laptops; 20 rounds of .38 ammunition; 12 rounds of 5.56 ammunition; four rounds of .50 calibre high velocity ammunition; a Luger with four rounds of ammunition; a .45 pistol with 18 rounds of ammunition; a Smith and Weston revolver and a 9mm Glock.
David said the .50 calibre ammunition was of concern because that type was normally used in high-powered rifles which needed a base to fire. He said the police had been monitoring gang activity since the state of emergency ended in December. He added: "We have been monitoring gangs in Maraval and Paramin. We are bringing down crime and we have been putting dents in gang activity. "There is shooting nightly between the Moraldo Trace and Clovic Trace gangs and we did retrieve 57 weapons during the state of emergency." Senior superintendent, Glenda Jennings-Smith, said there was a 51 per cent drop in serious crimes in western Trinidad but a slight increase in sexual offences. She added: "It is a continuing effort and we have been working assiduously to get rid of the elements in the community and have security and safety for the public.
-With reporting by Camille Clarke