The rise of gangs in Enterprise

Long-time residents of Enterprise recall a peaceful district, peopled mostly by squatters who occupied large parcels of land owned by late businessman and politician Bhadase Sagan Maraj, founder of the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha, the country’s largest Hindu organisation.

And while many of the early settlers struggled to earn a living, they were fairly decent people who led productive lives, residents said.

Former Chaguanas Mayor Orlando Nagessar told Sunday Newsday that Enterprise, located in the Chaguanas East constituency, one mile east of Montrose, was once “a lonely, peaceful place.” Nagessar recalled that in the early days, the community was called “Datsunville,” because of the large discarded, wooden boxes from car shipments which the squatters used to construct their homes. He estimated that the squatters occupied about 100 acres of Maraj’s land.

Today, Nagessar, who served as mayor from 1999 to 2013, said Enterprise was now a fully, self-contained residential community with a population of over 10,000 residents, comprising mostly low and middle-income earners.

“It has water, lights, Internet. It is a real developed area with paved roads, businesses and plenty shopping,” he told Sunday Newsday.

Nagessar claimed, however, that within the past five years, the criminal activity in the area has reached a head.

“People started calling it Central Laventille.

It is now a hotspot community with competing gangs shooting each-other. We now have joint police and army patrols. That was never there before,” he said.

During his lengthy stint as mayor, Nagessar said he never had a close relationship with Alexis.

“He never really interfered with the borough.

I remember him having one or two contracts handled under the URP (Unemployment Relief Programme) not the corporation. But I know that there have always been many rumours about him,” he said of Alexis.

Alexis, 51, was shot dead by assailants around 4.30 pm on Sunday at his car wash and grocery on Freedom Street, Enterprise. Two other men, including Kevin Escayg, believed to be one of Alexis’ customers, were also killed in the attack.

It is alleged that Alexis was murdered because he had pledged to expose the operations of the so-called Unruly Isis gang, and their relationship with two major law enforcement agencies in the country.

Alexis was laid to rest at the Munroe Road Muslim Cemetery, on Tuesday, following a funeral service at the Enterprise Community Masjid on Boodram Street.

The killings have reignited calls for the implementation of a permanent police post in the area at a time when the Central Division is in a period of transition after Snr Supt Jason Ford recently proceeded on two years leave. The division is now being headed by Ag Snr Supt Florice Hodge-Griffith.

In the wake of the killings, Nagessar said he participated in a recent town meeting in Waterloo which was attended by senior police officers, several MPs and residents. Saying that the MPs had all called for a permanent police post, Nagessar added: “The stain of crime has put us back a little and it is time the people come together and get back some sanity in the area.” This may very well be wishful thinking on his part.

According to retired Snr Supt Johnny Abraham, a former head of the Central Division, a culture of peace can only be realised in Enterprise if there was a marked increase in police patrols with officers “staying on the ground.” There must also be significant intelligence- gathering capability and “a lot of effort” to rid the area of the criminal element, he said.

“I used to be on the ground with my officers all the time and I never ill-treated them,” Abraham added.

In a brief Sunday Newsday interview, Abraham, who retired from the Police Service last December, said he understood that the Unruly Isis Gang may have been a break-away group from a faction affiliated to Alexis.

The retired senior police officer said it was difficult to put a handle on exactly when gang activity and violent crime reared its ugly head in Enterprise and Central Trinidad, but observed that it was not a new phenomenon.

“Even in the days of Dole Chadee (late drug lord and convicted murderer who was executed by the State for his crimes), there were gangs. It is just that there are plenty now,” Abraham said.

“Dole Chadee probably never even considered it a gang but a group of men coming together to do something. It is just more prevalent now.” Chadee, whose real name was Nankissoon Boodram, earned a reputation as one of the country’s top drug lords.

He and eight members of his gang were convicted of the January 1994 murders of Williamsville residents, Deo, Rookmin, Hamilton and Monica Baboolal. The men were subsequently executed at the Port-of-Spain jail in 1999.

More lately, it was widely believed that certain criminal operatives in central Trinidad had migrated from Laventille and that the rivalry involved men who had formed themselves into the central-based “Muslims” group and “Rasta City,” gangsters who also originated from the east Port-of-Spain community.

However, there also was a school of thought which claimed that the violence in Central Trinidad was not a war between “Rasta City” and “Muslims” but rather between elder members of the “Muslim” gang and younger members of the same gang.

Sunday Newsday learnt that there were persistent claims also that a former detainee during the 2011 state of emergency was inciting the young “Muslims” to commit warfare in the Enterprise area.

Abraham, who had held a tight rein on criminal activity in Central Trinidad, was forced to stem many an incident in the region during his tenure, especially during the months preceding his retirement.

In June 2015, Abraham joined forces with members of the Inter- Agency Task Force, following claims the rival gangs were leading a reign of terror in the region.

The officers, who carried out searches of several homes in the area, seized shotguns, several rounds of ammunition and quantities of illegal drugs.

Less than a year later, in April 2016, police instructed residents of Enterprise to stay indoors by 9 pm or face being arrested and charged for loitering. The move sought to enable law enforcement to get a grip on criminals who had turned the area into a war zone.

This followed an arson attack on a Southern Main Road, Enterprise family-run business place, which was said to have been owned and operated by a close female relative of a gang member.

It was alleged that the war between the rival gangs was the result of a contract awarded to build a concrete drain in Circular Drive, Enterprise: an area said to be controlled by the Unruly ISIS gang, the same group Alexis was reported as threatening to expose at the time of his shooting death, last week.

But a prominent Enterprise resident, speaking on the condition of strict anonymity, said Alexis was highly-regarded by many and maintained a heavy influence in the community even though he had frequent encounters with the law over the years.

“Robocop has been living in Enterprise all these years and he has kept the peace. He was a nice fella,” the resident said. “But while he wanted to keep the peace, there some young unruly young boys who do not respect anyone.” The resident claimed that all of the groups used to be together, liming on the savannah “but now everything is about turf.” The resident, however, did not support calls for a permanent police post in Enterprise but said a concerted effort must be made to save the younger children in Enterprise from a life of crime.