12,000 scratch bombs seized in Tacarigua

A 33-year-old woman along with her in-laws, will appear before a Tunapuna magistrate today to answer charges ranging from possession of firearms, ammunition and possession of explosive devices. The woman was charged by Acting Inspector Headley for the possession of explosive devices and importing the explosive devices after officers of the Firearms Interdiction Unit (FIU) found over 12,000 scratch bombs in her possession. The woman was arrested after a search warrant was carried on her home on Wednesday afternoon.

According to reports, at about 4 pm, the officers searched the woman’s home and found $11,700 worth of scratch bombs.  The woman’s father-in-law, mother-in law and sister-in law were also arrested and charged by the officers after two 12 gauge shot guns were found in their apartment located nearby. Twelve shotgun cartridges were also found at the home. The exercise carried out by officers of the FIU also resulted in the arrests of several others, including persons from Claxton Bay. In that area, officers held a man with three Venezuelan made guns. A 46-year-old Cedros man was charged for the offence after officers searched a bag he had in his possession and found a .38 revolver and two 12 gauge shot guns. Nine rounds of .38 ammunition were also found in the bag. The man will appear before a Port-of-Spain magistrate today after being charged by Constable Simon at the Port-of-Spain CID.

Other officers involved in the exercise were Cpl Dookie and Constables Samlal and Maharaj. Because of the heightened presence of the police searching for scratch bombs, Old Year’s Night activities were somewhat low-keyed. Unlike previous years when scratch bombs created a nuisance in areas throughout the country, police reported a somewhat quiet night on Wednesday with fireworks filling the air. Even the launch of fireworks was hampered when rain fell at midnight.