Cops swoop down on prayer group

NORTHERN Division Task Force and CID officers swooped down on a group of men performing the Muslim prayers “Juma” in Arima on Friday and arrested two of the worshippers who were found to be in possession of a firearm and marijuana respectively.

And five hours after the raid on the prayer group, the same officers raided a house in La Horquetta and arrested a woman and her daughter after they seized a loaded pistol and half a kilo of cocaine. In the first incident, around 2 pm, a party of officers led by Sgt Ansley Garrick and including Ag Cpl Mark Maharaj, PCs Gyan, Bernard, Callender, Rajkumar, Campo and Jackman went to Hollis Avenue, Arima in an area commonly called the “greens”. The officers came across a group of about 15 men doing prayers. The officers later searched all of the worshippers, some of whom police said, are aligned to a muslim faction. The officers later seized an Astra .32 semi-automatic pistol from a 25-year-old Sangre Grande man. They arrested a 20-year-old man who was found with a quantity of compressed marijuana.

The two were later charged by Ag Cpl Maharaj and are to appear before an Arima Magistrate on Tuesday. Sources said the Astra .32 pistol was recently stolen from the home of a retired Police Inspector.  At around 7 pm the same party of officers, acting on information, stormed a house at Yellow Bird Lane, La Horquetta, where they arrested a 57-year-old woman and her 25-year-old daughter. The officers found and seized a Baretta nine-millimetre semi-automatic pistol loaded with 15 rounds of ammunition and half a kilo of cocaine, with an estimated local street value of $60,000. Both mother and daughter have been charged with trafficking in cocaine and possession of arms and ammunition. They are expected to appear before an Arima Magistrate on Tuesday. Police have also issued an arrest warrant for a male relative of the two women.