Eight men were arrested on Saturday following a roving road check exercise that led to the recovery of an excavator believed to have been stolen from Pine Road, Toco Road, Sangre Grande.
Officers of the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service conducted the operation under Operation Trident within the Valencia District between 2:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. on January 3rd.
During the exercise, officers received information regarding a suspected firearm and ammunition being conveyed in a white Nissan Tiida and a silver Nissan Qashqai, which were escorting an excavator believed to have been stolen. The vehicles were reported to be travelling along Valencia Old Road.
Acting on the intelligence, police intercepted the vehicles and detained the occupants.
The following individuals were arrested pending further enquiries in relation to the suspected larceny of the excavator:
- A 38-year-old man of Alexis Circular, Plantation Road, Valencia
- A 29-year-old man of Plantation Road, Valencia
- A 43-year-old man of Daniel Trace, Malabar, Arima
- A 37-year-old man of Braithwaite Lane, San Juan
- A 40-year-old man of Suchit Trace, Penal
- A 40-year-old man of 96 Pine Avenue, Valencia
- A 28-year-old man of Frederick Settlement, Caroni
- A 31-year-old man of Bonair North, Windy Hill, Arima
The arrested individuals, along with the excavator and motor vehicles, were escorted to the Sangre Grande Police Station and the Valencia Police Post respectively. No firearm was recovered during the exercise.
The operation was coordinated by Senior Superintendent Paponette and Acting Inspector Harper, and supervised by Acting Sergeant Kerry Ramnarine and Acting Corporal Sookdeo.
Participating units included officers from the Valencia Criminal Investigations Department (CID), Valencia Task Force, Sangre Grande Task Force, and the Anti-Extortion Unit.