40-year-old fined $30K for possessing shotgun in Trinidad and Tobago

A 40-year-old Toco man of Trinidad and Tobago was fined $30K for the offence of possessing a shotgun and one 12- Guage Cartridge by a Sangre Grande Magistrate.

14th of December 2023

Another case of a man found with a firearm in Trinidad and Tobago. Picture Credits: Fb accounts

A 40-year-old Toco man of Trinidad and Tobago was fined $30K for the offence of possessing a shotgun and one 12-gauge cartridge by a Sangre Grande Magistrate.

Toco man, who has been identified as Gerald Joseph, a labourer from Balandra has pleaded guilty to two charges:

– Possession of Shotgun
– Possession of One 12-gauge Cartridge

Therefore, he was fined $15,000 on each of the charges by Magistrate Cheron Raphael.

Meanwhile, Joseph has been asked to pay the fine within the period of 12 months, or he’ll have to serve three years of jail term.

On 8th December, Cpl Andrews of the Toco Police Station led a raid at Joseph’s house. While executing the search warrant, the officers found a firearm and ammunition at the suspect’s house.

This search warrant resulted in the arrest of a Toco man.

Moreover, the operation was coordinated by Inspector (Ag.) Sankar and the matter were supervised By Sgt Edwards and the other officials from the Toco Police Station and the Mounted and Canine Branch.

This case is among a spree of such crimes in Trinidad and Tobago, which the police have been addressing recently, leading to multiple arrests.

On 11th December 2023, three men were apprehended for the offence of possessing firearms and ammunition, which were subsequently seized by the authorities during an anti-crime exercise which was conducted in the Port of Spain Division.

In the first operation, the authorities of the Port of Spain, Intelligence Unit, and Canine Branch conducted an exercise between 5 pm and 7:30 pm and executed several warrants.

One of the search warrants led to the arrest of one 19-year-old man, a resident of Nelson Street, for the offence of robbery.

Later on, the authorities headed towards Pioneer Drive, Sea Lots, for another operation and they discovered and seized one AR-15 rifle, one Glock 17 pistol and one Smith and Wesson pistol, as well as a total of 58 rounds of assorted ammunition.

On 7th December, two people were arrested by Trinidad and Tobago’s officers as the authorities discovered firearms and ammunition from them during an anti-crime exercise conducted by them.

During the search, the officials found and seized one AK-47, ammunition and an extended magazine and its several components parts in the East Dry River district. Two people were arrested in connection with this discovery.

Furthermore, such crimes have started increasing at an alarming rate, raising the question of whether the authorities are doing enough to deal with the issue and how they should proceed.