Crime free Carnival Monday

The “Security net” placed around Port-of-Spain and other main carnival points throughout the country, resulted in an incident free carnival Monday.

Police Commissioner Everald Snaggs when contacted yesterday said that up until midday yesterday, the police had no reports of any serious crimes. He commended members of the public for their assistance in making Carnival Monday incident free. The Commissioner was also in high praise of the security forces which were out in large numbers to ensure that crime was kept to a minimum. Commissioner Snaggs also revealed that a security blanket was placed in all land, air and sea points. On Friday, Commissioner Snaggs called out all officers on leave to report for duty before 6 pm.

In Port-of-Spain which is considered the “hottest” Carnival point, 33 persons were arrrested for possession of weapons and marijuana, and a quantity of knives and ice picks were seized. Police and army officers mingled freely with revellers and carried out routine checks which resulted in the arrests and seizures.  The visible police presence from 4 am in the city also resulted in revellers feeling a sense of security as they enjoyed themselves on the streets. Senior officers told Newsday that the anti-crime plan to deal with illicit activities on Carnival Monday worked very good, and police officers mingled with revellers to ensure that people adhered to law and order. Special emphasis was placed on providing protection to tourists who often wander along lonely areas.

Traffic officers also carried out road blocks at the highways and issued tickets for traffic offences. Illegal Babash commonly known as “bush rum” were seized in the roadblocks. Chaguanas was also incident free as a result of the lockdown introducted by officers in the Borough to deal with stabbings, robbery and larceny. From as early as 5 am, officers, both in uniform and plain clothes maintained a heavy presence , mingling with revellers as part of the anti-crime initiative. Jouvert in Chaguanas now attracts a wide section of people. Around 6 am, in the vicinity of Church’s Chicken at Main Road, Chaguanas, a man reported to the police that he was the victim of a pick pocket. PC Kirk Sheherd of the Chaguanas CID who was on duty, arrested an 18-year old man of Enterprise for the offence.

Fortunately, revellers heeded the advice of the police and desisted from walking around with large amounts of cash and jewelry. In Sangre Grande, four persons were arrested for possession of knives while a woman was held with a broken bottle. At Arouca, a police officer who intervened in a fight between two men suffered a cut to the head. In Western Division, 12 persons were arrested and a quantity of knives were seized.