Shane Superville
Piarco police are probing the origin of four AR-15s and a quantity of ammunition that were found hidden in a package at a Trincity warehouse on Friday afternoon. Police said officers from the Piarco CID received information of weapons being stored at the warehouse at around 5.30 pm and went to the area. On searching the warehouse, officers found the components of the four rifles hidden in a humidifier.
Also seized were six magazines, 60 rounds of 7.62 ammunition, 80 rounds of 5.56 ammunition, 30 rounds of .38 ammunition and 30 rounds of .45 ammunition. No one was arrested in relation to the find. However, police said they have some information on the origin of the weapons and said “all angles” were being covered in their investigation, including a possible link to the US.
“It is still a very recent development but we will be looking to see the foreign link in this shipment and it is something we are taking very seriously.” During a media briefing at Whitehall, Port of Spain, on Tuesday, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley said the support of foreign agencies like the FBI and the CIA can assist in clamping down on the illegal arms trade. “In America you can go in a store and buy a truckload of guns if you wish, in Trinidad and Tobago it’s a different system but we have an interfacing.
“The people who are buying those guns know Trinidad and Tobago, are probably even citizens or family members of citizens or they see us as a place where they can make profit so we have a lot in common with the US authorities.” Dr Rowley during a recent visit to Washington DC met with senior officials from both agencies and the Delaware Police Department to discuss security. He said the sharing of intelligence and information between local and international law enforcement arms were critical for crime-fighting success.