A “mystery” iron barricade has beenerected across the public road at HellYard, Beetham Gardens, and seniorpolice officers have seemingly reacheda dead end in finding out who is responsible for constructing it.
Once the person responsible is located,he or she will have to give answers,Snr Supt of the Port-of-Spain Division,McDonald Jacob, said yesterday.When the T&T Guardian went intothe area yesterday, the barricade, paintedin black and white, was fixed acrossthe road, which is located north of HellYard and parallel with the Priority BusRoute.
Residing beyond the barricade is saidto be one of Beetham’s notorious gangleaders and rumours have it that he isthe one allegedly responsible for erectingthe barricade.
A police officer assigned to the Portof-Spain Division said they too hadheard the rumours and added it waspossible the barricade was put there totransform that particular area to a“gated community” in a bid to keep“outsiders” from entering.
“We, the police, can pass but if astrange car enters the area those vehiclesare not allowed to enter.
“There are residents who are stationedaround to monitor people comingin and going out of the area,” theofficer said.
A resident who lives close to wherethe barricade is located told the T&TGuardian, under condition of anonymity,that it was erected by one resident(the notorious gang leader) in a bid tobring control and his “own law andorder.”
Contacted on this Jacob confirmedthat the T&T Police Service was currentlydoing inquiries surrounding thebarricade.“So far, what we were told was thatthe concrete wall that was erected wasdone so by the Government and it wasdone by a contractor but what we aretrying to find out is who put that barricadethere because we want to get itdown. That is the public road. We aretrying to see if anybody authorised it,”Jacob said.
Asked if the San Juan/LaventilleRegional Corporation (SLRC) was contactedabout it, Jacob said yes. He saidalso contacted councillor Franz“Delamo” Lambkin but admitted thatthey were yet to get real answers.“We were told that it was not thecorporation and that it could be someonefrom Town and Country but whenwe checked we were told that they arenot aware of any permission beinggiven.
But still we are still trying to findout because we cannot just go in anddemolish it, especially if someone gaveauthorisation. If someone did they willhave to give some answers,” Jacob said.Lambkin yesterday confirmed thepolice had enquired about the barricade. He also admitted no official permissionwas granted to anyone to erect the barricade.
He said in order for someone to havea closed community there must beownership of the land by the principlesintended and an application must thenbe made to Town and Country forapproval.
Asked if that was done, Lambkinreplied: “No, because if the applicationwas made to Town and Country thenit would have to come to the buildinginspector for the region and he saidthat he is not aware of it either.”
Asked if it could be a move by residentsfor protection, Lambkin said thatwhile they understand people may feelinsecure and would try to protect themselves,they (the relevant authorities)could not allow anyone to take the lawof the land into their own handsbecause the road was a public one. Hesaid anyone responsible for the road’sobstruction could be charged.