Sea Lots residents are being advised to report any incidents of police brutality they may have experienced during Monday’s raid to the Police Complaints Authority (PCA).
Residents claimed that the police broke down their front doors, and damaged their furniture and other property.
Police locked down the Sea Lots community, in Port-of-Spain, for several hours as officers, assisted by other security agencies, searched several houses at Pioneer Drive.
Four people were held during the raid that lasted several hours.
In a phone interview yesterday, ACP in charge of operations, Carlton Alleyne, who co-ordinated the raid, said the residents were told if they had any problems to report it to the PCA.
He said he was briefed after the raid but did not hear any reports of police brutality.
Alleyne said while he was watching TV he saw residents complaining that their doors were kicked in and their children traumatised.
“I only heard that on the TV. It had one man that said the police acted professionally when they searched his home. He said they (police) did what they had to do and went away. It had others who said police kick down their door,” he said.
Alleyne said any reports made to the authority would be investigated.
“Those who complain should report the matter and let whoever be investigated. That's not what we prescribe. When we have to search, we search a particular way. It’s not about kicking down doors. If they were treated badly let them go make a complaint,” he said.
Residents also complained that police did not have any search warrants and broke pieces of furniture during their search.
When contacted, the area spokesperson Kenroy Dopwell said he had no further comment to make on the incident.
During the raid, police said, two people were held for possession of army camouflage outfits.
One of the six camouflage outfits was similar to that used by members of the T&T Regiment.
One woman was held for alleged possession of a small quantity of marijuana.
Approximately 50 kilograms of marijuana wrapped in cling wrap were found at a house but no one was arrested in that find.
In addition, a woman who had $32,000 in her house was held and is still being questioned by officers of the Financial Investigations Branch (FIB), police said.