Army kit, ammo, ganja found

The exercise which started at 8 am and ended at 3 pm, was coordinated by Snr Supts Radcliffe Boxhill and Florice Hodge-Griffith and led by ASP Ajith Persad and Sgt Andre Lopez.

Officers from Besson Street CID, Port-of-Spain CID, the Inter- Agency Task Force (IATF), K-9 Unit and the Criminal Gang and Intelligence Unit were involved in the operation.

Shortly after midday, ‘Bak’ and his handler PC Samaroo were in an area near the tanks at Picton Hill searching for illicit items when ‘Bak’ was attacked by a swarm of bees near some galvanize sheets. PC Samaroo dragged his dog to safety and the dog was taken to a vet for treatment.

The incident caused the exercise to be temporarily halted.

About half an hour later, the exercise resumed and police who were digging the ground near the Picton tanks and the nearby Basketball court when they unearthed a quantity of 5.56 ammunition.

At one location, officers dug up an army camouflage kit. Last week another similar exercise was carried out at John John where officers found a quantity of ammunition and three firearms buried in the ground.

Aerial surveillance revealed several freshly dug holes in backyards and vacant lots of land which led officers to believe that illegal weapons and ammunition are being buried for safe-keeping.

Apart from using sniffer dogs, police used scanners to detect metal objects buried in the ground.

Police said that once these scanners indicate a buried metallic object was detected, officers used forks and shovels to dig the earth and this was how the rounds of ammunition were located. Apart from the ammunition and camoflage kit, police said yesterday’s exercise yielded a quantity of marijuana.

Residents of Picton and Africa in Laventille welcomed the presence of the police in their communities and said the time had come for Laventille to be cleaned up so those law-abiding citizens can once again walk the streets without fear. Residents claim that gang members have changed the landscape of the Laventille community and made life unbearable for citizens. No arrest was made during the exercise yesterday.