19 arrested in early morning raids in south

An early morning police exercise in the deep South yesterday resulted in the arrest of some 19 persons for illegal drugs, while a middle-aged couple was arrested for hunting a protected animal.

The exercise was conducted by members of the Siparia and Point Fortin CID’s involved areas from Cedros to Cap-de-Ville and started at 4 am yesterday morning. The party of officers, led by Ag Inspector Michael Wells, also arrested two Colombian male nationals, aged 30 and 32 years respectively, at a house in Chatham. The officers also seized fifteen grammes of compressed marijuana.An iguana was also seized from a Chatham couple. The couple, a 35-year old man and woman, are expected to be charged with possession of a protected animal and hunting during the closed season. And acting on a tip-off, the officers raided a house at Cap-de-Ville and arrested a 28-year old man for possession of a 16-guage shotgun. The officers also uncovered a quantity of marijuna under a pile of old lumber in the man’s backyard.