A 14-year-old boy and two 16- year-olds are among four people arrested for suspected gang affiliation in San Juan.
Police said officers of the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) visited Francis Avenue, Petit Bourg, around 4 pm on Sunday when they allegedly saw the three teenagers standing near a 19-year-old suspected gang member.
On seeing the police, the 14-year-old boy allegedly dropped a blue bandana, which police searched and found two rounds of 45 mm ammunition.
The teenagers were arrested on enquiries for being affiliates of a gang, while the man, described as a suspected gang member, was also arrested.
Meanwhile, an early morning exercise in east Port-of-Spain resulted in the arrest of 21 people and the seizure of a gun and ammunition yesterday.
Police said officers of various units including the Port-of-Spain Task Force began the exercise around 5 am where they targeted several areas in east Port-of-Spain including Nelson and Duncan Streets. During the exercise, officers with help from the Police Canine Unit conducted several house-to-house searches where they found and arrested three men identified as gang members.
One of the men was found with a pistol and ten rounds of 9mm ammunition.
Seven women and five men were also arrested for larceny of electricity as technicians from the T&T Electricity Commission (T&TEC) were called in to remove several illegal electrical connections.
Also held were two men wanted for possession of firearms and ammunition and two men wanted in relation to burglaries and robberies.
When Guardian Media visited Nelson Street yesterday, several residents were seen looking at teams of heavily armed police in tactical gear searching apartments and homes.
One mother, who asked not to be named, said while she never felt unsafe in her three years of walking her son to school, the sight of police was reassuring.
“It’s something I want to see more of.
“We need to get more of these officers out of the stations and out on the street doing this kind of thing. It makes you feel better especially the way things going.”
The woman said she lives in another part of east Port-of-Spain and admitted that tensions between neighbourhoods have made it difficult for some people to visit different communities even for work.
Officers of the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF), the Guard and Emergency Branch (GEB) and the Port-of-Spain City Police also offered support.