Police: We are on kidnapping case

“We are collaborating with all our stakeholders in an effort to successfully deal with that matter,” Phillip told the media yesterday after a National Security Council meeting at the Office of the Prime Minister in St Clair, Port-of-Spain.

Sookdeo, 34, of Debe, was abducted from her vehicle over two weeks ago after dropping off her children at school. Phillip also assured the public that the police were strategising daily to ensure they target priority offenders, offences, locations, and people who could be victimised. Within recent times, he said, the police have been seizing an average of ten firearms a day. Noting that the police were having more seizures of weapons, Phillip said the Police Service and the Defence Force were continuously in discussions on the number of firearms and ammunition seized.

They have identified legal and illegal ports where firearms were coming into the country, he said, and were working to reduce the number of weapons being used illegally. So far this year, the TTPS has retrieved over 590 firearms compared to 484 for the same period last year. Over 800 people have been charged for firearms related issues. If people want to reassure themselves, Phillip said, “we can look at what is taking place in the Port-of-Spain district.” In the Laventille community, he said, “we have not had a murder there for the last two months.” For the same period last year, Laventille had 71 murders. “We only have 47 for the same period this year,” he said. Nationally, the number of murders for this year is 348 compared to 332 for last year. The police, he said, were achieving “a lot of gains” and were working with communities to reduce violence and to target at-risk youths. Looking forward to support from the communities, he said, “We expect a reduction in murders given our strategies in the near future.”