Central Division police have seized $6 million worth of cocaine. They believe the drugs were seized minutes after it was shipped into T&T yesterday when they arrested two men following a high-speed chase that ended in Freeport.
The T&T Guardian was told the Central Division Task Force and Major Crime Unit, led by Snr Supt Johnny Abraham, Insp Terrence Williams and Sgt Jitindra Toolaram, led a surveillance team to the Carli Bay Fishing Depot, Couva, around 4.30 am, after gathering information in an ongoing operation.
The unit reportedly saw the suspects putting two crocus bags into the back seats of two Nissan Tiidas. Police approached the men and they got into the cars and sped off. This led to a chase through Bank Village, Carapichaima.
The men were eventually caught in a roadblock at St Mary’s Junction, Freeport. On searching the cars, police found two bags weighing seven and eight kilograms each, containing parcels of cocaine. The Organised Crime Narcotics and Firearms Bureau said the drug was pure cocaine.
The suspects—a 43-year-old Longdenville man and a 35-year-old El Dorado man—were taken to the Chaguanas Police Station where they were questioned. It was not yet known where the cocaine came from. Both were arrested previously for various crimes.
Contacted yesterday, Abraham said more Central Division police had been on the ground recently to keep criminals at bay. He said since 3 am Sunday to yesterday morning, his colleagues had arrested over 100 people, given out 160 tickets for traffic violations and done nearly 2,000 stops and searches.
He said: “I want to thank my officers in Central for keeping it down and we are going to continue this drive until after Carnival. I just want the public to bear some patience with us with the roadblocks.
“I don’t want them to be agitated but what we are doing is for their own safety and security.”
Abraham said police also would be pulling over drivers with heavily-tinted vehicles, as many of them were being used to conceal guns, drugs and victims of crimes.
He said even if they were not engaged in crime, it was an offence to tint so heavily that it obstructed the view from outside and warned that it carried a $3,000 fine.
He said last week two women police officers stopped a vehicle that was so heavily tinted they had to wait for backup before approaching it.