Following an upsurge in gun violence and murders in the Northern and Central Divisions in the past month, police conducted 24-hour exercises in both divisions and arrested 97 people, some of whom are suspects in murders.
So far the murder toll has reach 414 for the year compared to 374 for the same period last year.
The bulk of the killings have been concentrated in the two divisions.
The exercise in the Northern Division was led by divisional commander Snr Supt McDonald Jacob and included officers from all the police stations in the division as well as special help from policing units such as the Inter-Agency Task Force, K9, Criminal Gang and Intelligence Unit, Guard and Emergency Branch and the T&T Regiment.
A statement from the Police Service said 115 officers were involved in the operation which began at 6 am on Thursday and ended at 3 am yesterday. The officers concentrated on La Horquetta and Maloney housing apartments.
A total of 55 people were held in the Northern Division—four on suspicion of cocaine possession, 22 on outstanding warrants for gun-related offences, five for possession of firearms, four for possession of marijuana and three for possession of camouflage clothing. Other suspects were held for various outstanding warrants, a release from the Police Service stated.
Of those held, police said, four were detained in relation to the murder of aspiring soldier Daniel “Danny Boy” Voisin at Building 19, Maloney Gardens, on Monday.
Voisin’s killing took place three days after police did a six-hour raid in Maloney and they believe the two incidents are linked. Police said around 7 am Monday they responded to a report of a shooting in the area and found Voisin murdered just outside his 2-4 North apartment located on the first floor. The 21-year-old father of one was killed a few feet from his child after the killer ordered he put down his son, police said.
Three pistols were recovered in that operation and a kilogramme of marijuana seized.
The dragnet comes two days after acting Police Commissioner Stephen Williams gave the green light for “Operation Road Up” across the country with emphasis on Central and Northern Divisions since the two are the leading divisions for murders.
The basis of the operation the T&T Guardian was told was to target suspected criminals in the divisions and interrogate them on recent crimes as well as to monitor the levels of crime committed during the period the suspects are in police custody compared to when they are not.
In Central, a division-wide exercise was conducted but with the shooting death of Anton “Bready” Mitchell by police early Thursday, many of the efforts had to be diverted to Enterprise, Chaguanas, where the incident took place.
A total of 42 people were arrested in that division for various offences including possession of marijuana, outstanding warrants and possession of arms and ammunition. That exercise was spearheaded by the divisional commander Snr Supt Kenny Mc Intyre and also included officers from each of the police stations in the division as well as others. Two guns were recovered in the exercise including a Glock 17 with four rounds of ammunition, which police said was recovered from Mitchell following an alleged shoot-out with them.