Southern Division police had to evade snakes, endure the smell of oil and walk precariously over hazardous debris at several abandoned properties in San Fernando yesterday, uncovering cocaine and marijuana hidden by drug dealers.
Yesterday's exercise highlighted how criminals were using unkept properties near the heart of the city to conduct illegal activities and hide their stashes.
From about 8 am yesterday, officers from the Southern Division CID, Task Force and Canine Unit began combing a bushy area off Vistabella Road, Springvale Street, where they found 3.8 kg of high grade marijuana, valued at $50,000, and 30 grammes of cocaine, valued at $3,000. While removing galvanised and wood scraps, officers had to deal with snakes.
The team. led by Insp Don Gajadhar, and including Sgt Parasram, PCs Rampersad, Mahabir, Pulchan, Snaggs, Ali and Goddard, also searched abandoned properties on San Fernando Street and St James Street where vines and bushes covered heaps of garbage and old containers were stored as well.
While the search dogs sniffed through one property on San Fernando Street, the smell of oil flowing into the drains seemed to affect them. The drain itself was filled with dry grass and garbage.
Gajadhar said people have been complaining about the illegal activities happening near their homes and it was up to the police to deal with it.
“We got information that people are hiding guns and drugs in those areas and we will continue to target those abandoned areas. We are checking out all now because school children, dissidents and all kind of people are using these properties,” Gajadhar said.
Just recently s student of Marabella South Secondary was shot in an abandoned house on San Fernando Street, known as “The Mansion”.
Resident said the house was used as a sex and drug den by school children. Last year, a San Fernando nurse was taken to an abandoned property in the area and raped.