Ralph Banwarie
Motorists were charged with traffic offences and suspected marijuana, a firearm and ammunition were seized during a four-hour police exercise across three divisions on Thursday.
The exercise, dubbed Operation Blast, was conducted between 9 am and 1 pm in the Western, Port of Spain and Eastern divisions.
Officers intercepted a silver Mitsubishi Lancer on the eastbound lane of the Churchill-Roosevelt Highway, near Lifestyle Motors, after the driver was unable to produce his driving documents. The driver was arrested and taken to the Barataria Police Station for further processing.
During the exercise, officers also acted on information from an anonymous informant and searched an area known as The Gaza at Savannah No. 1.
They found a black bag concealed beneath debris near an orange traffic cone. The bag contained approximately 610 grammes of plant-like material suspected to be marijuana, a black metal object resembling a firearm and a magazine containing eight objects suspected to be live ammunition.
No arrests were made in connection with the seizure.
The exercise also targeted motorists for exceeding the speed limit, failing to wear seat belts, illegal window tint, expired or absent vehicle inspection certificates, defective vehicle fittings and driving without insurance.
The operation involved officers from the E999 Emergency Response Unit, Guard and Emergency Branch, Inter-Agency Task Force, Traffic Branch, Air Support Unit and Licensing Division.
Police described the exercise as incident-free.
