Senior Reporter
sascha.wilson@guardian.co.tt
Police raided a Chinese business complex in San Fernando yesterday morning, arrested the owner and detained approximately 100 foreign nationals.
Around 5 am, officers from an elite security unit swooped down on the complex at Union Hall where V’s Members Club, a supermarket, hotel and apartment complex are located. They detained several Chinese and Spanish-speaking nationals, including children, who were handed over to the Immigration Division to determine their status. The owner was arrested in connection with firearm-related offences.
Police said the raid followed five years of intelligence work based on information on alleged illegal activities at the compound and alleged ties to international Chinese criminal organisations.
There were two murders on the compound last year. Businessman Christopher Rajbally, 38, was driving out of the compound shortly before 11 pm on December 5 when occupants of a white Toyota Aqua blocked his path and opened fire on him.
Last July 24, Ricky Loach left the casino around 11 pm and entered his vehicle in the car park when a man walked up to him and opened fire. He died at the scene.