The warring gangs, "Rasta City" and "Muslims", have frontally taken on each other and the police in Central Trinidad. That most vocal of senior police officers, Snr Supt Johnny Abraham had issued continuous warnings to the criminals "to stay out of Central", but the gangs, said to comprise new and old lawbreakers who happen to be Muslim and Rastafarian, have in effect said to the senior police officer that they will fight their drug turf wars where and when they chose, and he and the police can do little to prevent it.
That suggestion has an unnerving sequel to it, as reported in Monday's T&T Guardian. According to that report, a planned secret strike on the gangsters failed because the gang leaders had allegedly been tipped-off by police officers. Senior Superintendent Abraham said on a radio programme that information on the raid came from gang members who had been monitoring the police moves with walkie-talkies. Overall, the strike force was made up of several departments and included 250 officers.
Whatever the truth about how the gangsters were informed and who tipped them off, one officer on the raid told the Guardian that it was a waste of time. After a 12-hour search, two home-made shotguns, two rounds of ammunition, and a small quantity of cocaine were found, and a couple of people were arrested. So not only are the criminal gangsters unafraid and unperturbed by the threats of the Senior Superintendent, but they can monitor the movements of the strike force. Perish the thought that they could have moles inside the police force and that this is what has given them the confidence to take on the senior officer and his threats?
The lesson for Snr Supt Abraham is that he has to have the capacity, the secret intelligence and the power to back up his admonitions to the criminals. In this round the criminals have shown that they are the ones with the power of information. Acting Commissioner of Police, Stephen Williams in responding last week to reporters' questions on the ability of the police to deal with this dangerous situation, was confident that his teams could effectively counter the threat posed by the criminal gangs. Mr Williams spoke before the failed surprise raid of last week, and perhaps he had meant that raid to be the police's backing up of its vow to re-take control of the community.
The question now is how the police ends the warfare and prevents yet another community being infiltrated by gangs which peddle illegal narcotics, and engage in violent criminal activities that set off young people on a path of no return. Commissioner Williams must know that this is a battle that the law enforcement establishment must win, and convincingly. The police do not need another criminal "hotspot" over which they are severely challenged to take control.
Chaguanas is one of the fastest growing centres in T&T–a vital, bustling business and residential community of which much is expected in terms of decentralisation of businesses and residents. Police need to win here, to make other communities around the country confident that the security forces are a match for the criminals, and that large scale criminal activity can be successfully tackled and contained.