The men have been in the country for the past four months.

The raid yesterday was conducted by Port of Spain police and officers from the Immigration Department. At 10 am, the officers descended on a partially construced building on Charlotte Street where they found the men on the top floor of the structure.

None of the men spoke English and were made to kneel while police guarded them as they awaited the arrival of an Immigration Centre bus to take the eight to the Immigation Detention Centre in East Trinidad. The exercise was spearheaded by Senior Superintendent Glenn Charles who said police received certain information that foreigners were working in slave-like conditions.

The men worked and lived in rooms with no ventilation and no washroom facilities. Construction buckets were seen containing water in which mosquito larvae wriggled. This was the water the men used to drink and cook food. One countertop ringshaped gas burner was what the immigrants used to cook food.

Scaffolding was used to hang clothes to dry.

Charles said that the exercise formed part of a wider push by the Police Service to tackle crime in the city. He called on businessowners in downtown PoS to partner with the police and refrain from hiring illegal immigrants, all of whom have no documentation.

“We want to send a strong message to store owners to stop employing these illegal immigrants, because they will be prosecuted for aiding and abetting in the commission of an offence. Employ people who have the necessary legal documents and stop employing those who don’t have.

Charles said he was astonished on seeing the conditions the Chinese nationals were living in.

“I was amazed to see the conditions in which these illegal immigrants survived and worked in,” Charles said.

The Superintendent also revealed that in addition to the eight labourers held, an additional 12 illegal Chinese nationals were held during similar raids earlier that morning from various businessplaces along Charlotte street.

A Cuban, a Venezuelan and four Guyanese nationals were also held in the exercise yesterday.

Snr Supt Charles said investigations will continue to locate the owner of the building in which the eight immigrants were found, as that person could be liable and face charges.

According to reports, at about 4.45 pm, the Coast Guard vessel TTS Speyside was on routine patrol when crew sighted two vessels, the Don Miguel and Don Meke, approximately seven nautical miles off the coast of Castara Bay.

Newsday understands that when the Speyside intercepted the vessels, their crew began hauling in lines and securing fishing equipment. Both vessels were subsequently boarded and searched. Members of the Coast Guard recovered a quantity of fish and it was later revealed that the vessels were operating in Tobago waters for the past two days.

The vessels have since been lodged at the Coast Guard’s Operations Base in Scarborough pending further investigations.

A release issued by the Tobago House of Assembly yesterday said that the division intends to work closely with the Coast Guard and related agencies in establishing marine dominance and securing TT’s maritime boundaries.

Instead, we will be better able to weather the yoke of economic uncertainty through collaborative effort.” He said that in learning from this country’s history, “we must create for each citizen of this country a system of support and protection without regard for lines of separation based on class/colour/gender/economic status or religion.” Rowley said as the nation must honour the memory of African ancestors by creating a society free from brutality and based on justice, mutual respect and equality, the sacrifices and hard-won freedom of enslaved African ancestors must never be forgotten.

“While it may be argued that the scars of slavery are still evident in the economic underdevelopment of Caribbean territories and the psychological trauma experienced by descendants of former slaves; it also cannot be denied that persons of African descent have achieved success in all areas of human endeavour despite the scourge of slavery,” Rowley said. (See Page 15A

Shondell Jack, a labourer of Gill Street, Valencia was charged with the murder following instructions received from Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Roger Gaspard, SC. After the charge was read out in court, Jack was remanded into custody as the case was adjourned.

Lake, 26, lived at Bertram Street and was found dead, with a single gunshot wound to the head at KP Lands in Valencia. Jack was charged by detective Constable Andre Lewis of the Homicide Investigations Bureau (Region II) on Saturday.

According to reports, Williams was standing at the corner of the Samuel Cooper Junction when a gunman approached him and shot him several times.

The gunman fled the scene as he slumped to the ground.

Police and emergency services were contacted, and when they responded they found Williams’ body on the roadside.

Relatives told Newsday, he was a security guard. They described him as a caring and helpful person.

“Once he knew you, he would help you out,” said one relative, “He was like a godfather to the people in the area.

He was a real cool one man, a real cool one.” An autopsy confirmed that he died from multiple gunshot wounds. Investigations are ongoing.

Two men aged 22 and 26 were detained and are assisting police with their investigations.

Police made the biggest find in a forested area in Saunders Trace, Moruga on Friday evening when acting on a tip off, they went to a hunter’s camp and found five shotguns, two of them homemade.

They also recovered 12 five-gauge cartridges.

No one was held in connection with the discovery.

Earlier in the day, officers of the Fyzabad Police Station executed a search at a house in Palo Seco and found hidden under a mattress a black and silver Smith and Wesson pistol along with a magazine containing four rounds of ammunition. The lone occupant in the house was held.

According to a police report, a short while later, officers of the Cedros Police Station on mobile patrol, had cause to stop and search a 22-yearold fisherman of Fullarton Beach Road, Cedros.

He was found to be in possession of a black and chrome Browning pistol.

The Chambers were however unanimous in their rejection of calls by OWTU president general Ancel Roget for a boycott of those businesses which were owned by the top “one percent” in society. The Chambers also disagree with the August 4 “Labour Day 2” march which is scheduled to take place in Port of Spain saying the unions should have stayed in the tripartite council as this would have enabled them to influence the course of the nation’s future and economy.

In a telephone interview yesterday, Couva/ Point Lisas Chamber of Commerce president, Liaquat Ali, who was a victim of crime recently, (he was stabbed by a man at his business place in Couva in June), said Government should seek foreign assistance as the police service was unable to arrest the crime rate.

“They tried that (a nationwide shutdown) a couple of years ago and it didn’t solve the problem but we need to look at the issue of crime seriously, I don’t think the police service is capable of handling the situation with respect to crime,” Ali said.

“The criminal elements are winning the war on crime, for the past four years or so, there have been over 2,000 murders, how many people were held, how many were brought to justice, the figure is shameful to say how much but we need to explore all the options available and if it means seeking help from outside or looking at something new, they have to be innovative because the police service fighting crime the same way for the past how much years and it not working,” he said.

He said businesspeople had opted not to operate their businesses on more than 12 hour shifts as they were “scared” for the safety of their workers.

“We have to provide transportation for them (employees), so the cost of doing business is getting increasingly high because of the criminal activities that is taking place,” Ali said.

And regarding the stabbing incident, Ali said “police have not communicated with me with respect (to) whether a warrant was issued, whether they apprehended anybody- nothing, I would have called a few times and after that I stopped calling, I leave it up to them.” Meanwhile, incoming Penal/ Debe Chamber of Commerce president Rampersad Sieuraj said crime had to be addressed by all of the protective services including the Judiciary.

“It’s a matter of the implementation of the particular laws that we have, it’s a matter of the judicial system being able to deal with the crime, it’s a matter of the police service to detect and get convictions on an earlier stage so I don’t think that a total shutdown would solve any problem,” Sieuraj said.

“The chamber is of the opinion that white-collar crime need to be addressed because that seems to be the major problem together with the solving of the guns and the drugs coming into the country,” he said.

“There is a total breakdown of all the institutions in the country, presently the Judiciary, even the Army has been embroiled in recent controversies, the police service is in total chaos and those are the issues that need to be addressed,” he said.

Point Fortin South Western Chamber president George Alexis, while he agreed that crime was a national issue said Rambachan seemed to have jumped on the unions “train” of a national shutdown.

Daniel George of Upper Pashley Street, Laventille was sentenced by Justice Maria Wilson in the Port of Spain High Court.

George is expected to be released in less than three years as he was granted an automatic one third discount on his sentence because of his guilty plea and seven years he spent on remand awaiting trial, was deducted from the sentence. He pleaded with Justice Wilson to be sent to St Ann’s.

“Since I young, they calling me mad,” he said.

Justice Wilson ordered that he be sent for psychiatric evaluation within the next two weeks to determine the best course of treatment. “I think in our society there is some sort of reluctance to deal with mental health issues and a tendency to conceal this within a family,” the judge said.

She said there was no issue over George’s ability to plead guilty as a psychiatric evaluation had been done prior to the court accepting his plea.

In sentencing George, she set a starting point of 11 years but increased it because of aggravating factors in the case, which included the fact that George’s father had obtained two protection orders against his son before the fire. She also said George’s father Barry George’s victim impact statement was the worst she had seen as a judge.

“It was only negative,” she said. According to the evidence, the arson incident took place on July 6, 2010, while George’s father was on his way to the Besson Street Police Station to report threats made by his son. While the police and Barry were on their way to the family’s home to speak to George, they met him walking along the Eastern Main Road near the Success Laventille Secondary School.

George allegedly said: “Officers, thank you. I was just going to the station to make a report.” The officers claimed that when they took George and his father to their house, they found that it was completely engulfed in flames.

“I wanted to make a jail because I have no place to stay,” George said. Senior State attorney Anju Bhola prosecuted.

Scotiabank has been consistently recognized as the Best Consumer Internet Bank or Best Consumer Digital Bank by Global Finance since 2009, demonstrating its strength in digital banking.

“We are very proud to have been recognized by Global Finance for the digital solutions we offer to our customers in Canada, Latin America, and the Caribbean,” said Ignacio Deschamps, Group Head, International Banking and Digital Transformation.

“At Scotiabank, we have a global robust digital banking strategy focused on meeting customers’ needs and expectations.” “In Trinidad and Tobago, this is the 7th consecutive year we have received this accolade” stated Anya M. Schnoor – Senior Vice President and Head, Caribbean East and South.

“One of our top priorities is to make it easier for customers to do business with us by becoming the leading digital bank in the markets where we operate and this award is testament to us achieving this.” she continued Scotiabank was recognized as 2017 World’s Best Consumer Digital Bank in 24 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean: Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Costa Rica, Dominica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, Puerto Rico, St. Kitts & Nevia, St Lucia, St.

Marteen, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos, and US Virgin Islands.

Scotiabank was also recognized in one international regional subcategory: Regional Winner for Best in Mobile Banking Latin America and the Caribbean; and three regional subcategories in North America: Best Mobile Banking App, Best Bill Payment and Presentment, and Best Information Security Initiatives.

Scotiabank is undergoing a digital transformation to meet the changing expectations of customers.

Some recent highlights include: Creating a network of five Digital Factories in its priority markets of Canada, Mexico, Chile, Peru and Colombia which are focused exclusively on delivering digital customer solutions; Appointing five digital banking leaders who will drive the Bank’s digital strategy in key markets; partnering with FinTechs and universities to help accelerate our digital and analytics capabilities; rolling out a new online and mobile banking platform across Latin America and Caribbean countries to make it easier for our customers to do business with us; and introducing new digital branches in Mexico City and Canada.

Winning banks were selected based on the following criteria: strength of strategy for attracting and servicing digital customers, success in getting clients to use digital offerings, growth of digital customers, breadth of product offerings, evidence of tangible benefits gained from digital initiatives, and web/ mobile site design and functionality.

Appearing before Senior Magistrate Cheryl-Anne Antoine were Mahadeo, 23; her common-law husband Nicholas Hosein, 26; Jason Balkaran, 26, and his common-law wife Veronica Mohammed, 20, all of Picton Settlement.

The charge read to the couples alleged that they broke and entered the Divine Life Society Shiv Mandir in Diamond Village and stole three speaker boxes, two sound barrier speakers, two fans and a box containing 3,500 in cash – altogether amounting to $24,550.

The four were arrested over the weekend and charged by PC Adam Andre under Section 26 of the Larceny Act. The break in occurred between June 15 and June 21. The charge carries a maximum sentence, on conviction, of ten years’ in prison.

Court prosecutor Cleyon Seedan told Magistrate Antoine that the charge was laid indictably and as a result, none of the accused were called on to enter a plea as the case has to be determined before a judge and jury, if so ordered, at the end of a preliminary inquiry.

The magistrate granted Hosein and Balkaran bail in the sum of $50,000 with a surety or the alternative of 15,000 cash deposit. Mahadeo and Mohammed were granted $25,000 bail with a surety with a cash alternative of $10,000.

The matter was postponed to August 28.