(Trinidad Guardian) Investigators have launched a dragnet to catch more suspects believed to be linked to Tuesday’s major drug bust in Westmoorings.
Among those being hunted is a businessman from north Trinidad believed to be a high-ranking member of a drug trafficking ring behind major transhipments of drugs into and out of the country.
However, police said yesterday that the investigations had reached a highly sensitive stage and as such they would disclose no further information to the public until charges are laid against the five people— three men and two women — who were arrested during the drug bust. One of the detained women is a relative of a former partner of Minister of National Security Stuart Young.
Police said they were still in the process of taking statements from the suspects and formulating the charges to be laid.
Police were up to late yesterday also sorting out the packages that were seized from the posh apartment at Regents Gardens. Some were packaged compressed marijuana and some cocaine.
By the markings on the packaging, police initially said there was a link to both Mexican and Venezuelan drug cartels.
However, criminologist Daurius Figueira yesterday ruled out the Mexican link, saying that the Mexicans are more organised and their packaging is “more distinct and classy.”
He suspects more of a Colombian and Venezuelan link and drew reference to the drug bust at North Valsayn recently where police outrightly pinpointed a “Colombian link.”
Figueira described what he saw on Tuesday from the drug bust as “floppy.”
“That was totally a floppy organisation, which goes against all the rules that Mexican traffickers abide by,” he said.
“Colombian products are moving through Venezuela to here. The drugs are banded in brown paper and put in black garbage bags. These drugs are being moved from Colombia throughout Venezuela in small amounts on the floor of cars and inside fenders.”
Figueira said he believes that a “dime dropped” from within the business.
“The information went directly to the police from someone inside for them (the police) to take out the trafficking cell and that now leaves a lot of speculation on the ground.”
He added that he strongly believes that with the three recent drug and weapon seizures will come to a “wave of violence,” including murders, to follow.
“The three incidents showed exactly three dimensions of the illicit trade in T&T— one automatic weapons with marijuana on the side…the next ganja and with this third one, we are still waiting to hear how much cocaine and ganja seized. This is an idea of how dynamic the trade is in T&T and it is a wake-up call,” Figueira said.
An estimated $15 million worth of narcotics were seized from an apartment in Westmoorings and five people arrested. The exercise took place at about midday on Tuesday and was conducted by the Special Operations Response Team of the T&T Police Service.
Commissioner of Police Gary Griffith, who was part of Tuesday’s operation, announced that “the happy hour was over” for all drug dealers and criminals after the seizure and arrests.
He assured that he was “taking them down one by one” and promised that he was coming after them.