Crime Stoppers seize $195 million in drugs

WITH $195 million in illegal drugs seized, $1.2 million in stolen property recovered, 1,727 police investigations cleared, 412 persons arrested and charged, 38 firearms and 107 rounds of ammunition seized to date, Crime Stoppers is taking a major bite out of crime in Trinidad and Tobago. This was the opinion expressed by Crime Stoppers general manager Devrol Dupigny, when he addressed a breakfast meeting at the TT Chamber of Commerce headquarters in Westmoorings yesterday.

In addition, Dupigny told the gathering Crime Stoppers had received a total of 10,386 calls, 5,233 tips and its information had cleared 711 offences and resulted in the destruction of 18,000 marijuana trees. Among the recent Crime Stoppers successes listed by Dupigny were the arrests of three persons involved in the abduction of four-year-old Saada Singh, the seizure of over $13 million worth of cocaine in Bacolet, Tobago, and the seizure of 198 kilos of marijuana. For the period April through June, Dupigny said Crime Stoppers received 117 reports for narcotics (29 persons arrested and charged), 66 reports for firearms (seven persons arrested and charged), four reports for kidnapping (three persons arrested and charged) and four reports for rape/sexual intercourse with a female between 14-16 years of age.

There were 15 reports of murder to Crime Stoppers during this period, but no one has been arrested or charged to date.  In terms of future initiatives, Dupigny said the expansion of Crime Stoppers’ gun retrieval public awareness campaign and the creation of a website, as two of the major initiatives in the pipeline. Crime Stoppers chairman Clint Williams urged members of the business community to continue to support the organisation. Williams said Crime Stoppers is urging ordinary citizens to become affiliate members. He also said the group planned to upgrade its call centre and it had never compromised the identity of any tipster.