Nine sophisticated guns, a hand grenade, ten blocks of cocaine and more than 300 rounds of assorted ammunition were seized by police who raided a house in Rousillac, south Trinidad, late Wednesday.
By Radhica SookrajSenior policemen initiated an investigation late yesterday to determine how the bulletproof vest fell into the wrong hands.
Members of the Firearms Interdiction Unit, who carried out the exercise, have charged a man, a 12-year-old girl and three Venezuelan women, all of whom appeared in court yesterday to answer charges related to the find.
Martin Noreiga, 34, of Southern Main Road, Aripero Village, Rousillac, a 12-year-old relative of Nelson Street, Port-of-Spain, along with Erica Rondon, 30, of Costa Azul, Margarita, Venezuela, her mother Beatrice Rondon, 55, and sister Adriana Rondon, 18, both of San Juan, Caracas, Venezuela, appeared in the Princes Town Magistrate?s Court.
Magistrate Siumongal Ramsaran ordered that the five be kept in custody without bail.
Police said that among the cache of guns they seized were one Mac I, one Mac II, two Mac 10s, three semi-automatic pistols, one .38 Smith and Wesson revolver, two .382 handguns, a live hand grenade, two AK-47 magazines and 359 rounds of ammunition of various calibre, which were found in a crocus bag.
The Mac Is, IIs and 10s are no longer used by police and Defence Force personnel.
These weapons are outdated in T&T but frequently used in Venezuela.
The raiding party said the ten blocks of high-quality cocaine they found had an estimated street value of just over $3 million, while the compressed marijuana was worth $50,000.
In court yesterday, the mother of the 12-year-old girl sobbed throughout proceedings and collapsed outside the courtroom when her daughter was remanded in custody, pending a police trace.
The Venezuelans were unrepresented.
They were denied bail after the police prosecutor objected on the grounds that the charges were serious.
The prosecutor also cited the volume of exhibits and said the women were foreigners and if granted bail they could abscond.
The matter has been adjourned to Monday and transferred to the Siparia Magistrate?s Court.
Senior policemen said they were probing a possible link between T&T and Venezuela.
CoP: A major breakthrough
In a telephone interview last evening, Police Commissioner Trevor Paul said he was elated over the seizure and that the FIU detectives who were involved in the exercise would be rewarded.
Paul said he and his executive officers were determined to continue the battle to get illegal guns off the streets.
He said, ?We are having the problem of illegal guns and the fact that we were able to pull that amount of guns off the streets from people with criminal intent, is a major success.?
