Four held loading container with ‘coke’

Four persons were caught red-handed loading pure cocaine into a 20-ft container at Las Lomas early yesterday morning. Two of them are employees at the Piarco International Airport.  The cocaine, which has been valued at (TT)$1M, was discovered during a police exercise in which six persons were held. During the same exercise four persons, including two police officers, were shot. The raids were concentrated in the villages of St Helena, Las Lomas and Piarco.

The container, which was under surveillance for several days, was moved from the Piarco airport and taken to Farouk Street, Las Lomas.
It was at this location the police party surrounded the container and made the arrests. According to reports, at around 1.40 am, officers of the Organised Crime and Narcotics Unit (OCNU) and the Firearms Interdiction Unit (FIU) coordinated by Snr Supt Raymond Craig and led by Supt Franklyn Edwards carried out the raids. 

The discovery of the cocaine container led the officers to Rodney Street Extension in Las Lomas. But on approaching the house owned by Boodraj St Clair, 25, and his wife Geeta, 39, they were greeted by rapid gunfire. The police officers returned fire and when the shooting died down both Boodraj and his wife Geeta were shot, as well as two of the policemen in the raiding party. Boodraj, a licensed firearm owner, and his wife are now at the Arima Health Facility under police guard.