Two supermarket owners have been charged with offences arising out of investigations into reports of illicit trade operations conducted by officers of the Multi-Agency Task Force (MATF).
According to a statement from the T&T Police Service, Stephany Wong Low and Yunxian Huang were charged with offering illicit tobacco products for sale contrary to the Tobacco Control Act 30:04 and keeping a common gaming house contrary to the Gambling and Betting Act, Chapter 11:19.
Police said the charges follow investigations into reports of illicit trade operations held at their businesses in Port-of-Spain and Marabella.
During exercises conducted by the MATF in September, officers seized items including quantities of illicit cigarettes, pre-packaged food items, illicit pharmaceuticals and cash registers programmed and used for illegal play-whe gambling.
Investigations included assistance from the Ministry of Health’s Chemistry, Food and Drugs Division and the National Lotteries Control Board (NLCB).
Police said the accused were charged by PCs Kalloo and Gosine, who are attached to MATF, on October 15 and October 18.