Government is deciding between two locations in Dass Trace, Enterprise, for that Chaguanas community’s promised police station after another murder occurred there last Sunday.
“The matter’s being dealt with right now,” National Security Minister Edmund Dillon said, although he did not give a timeframe for completion.
Dillon spoke following last weekend’s murder of Enterprise businessman Joey Basdeo, who was was attacked by a gunman while driving out of Reuben Lane with his family. He was reportedly a friend of reputed gang leader Selwyn “Robocop”Alexis who was murdered last year.
Basdeo’s murder followed weeks of relative calm in Enterprise after a wave of gang-war related violence in March and April. Several friends and relatives of Alexis have been shot or killed since then.
Following the spate of murders, the army and police presence in the area was increased and the National Security Council decided to construct a police station in the area “in the shortest possible time.”
Last Thursday in the Senate, following Opposition questions about the station, Dillon said Government is still examining two locations.
“We’re debating which one will give the best advantage. There’s no time frame, but it will be built as soon as possible,” he said.
On Monday, Dillon said the two options on the table involve state lands at Dass Trace which are under the control of the Chaguanas Borough Corporation. One is near an early childhood centre and the other is also close by.
On Basdeo’s murder, Dillon said following gang warfare earlier in the year there had been a migration of culprits out of Enterprise into different districts. He said the situation is being tracked and the police/army presence remains with broadened coverage of the district.
Last Friday, IslamicFront leader Umar Abdullah, who has been working on peace initiatives since March with Enterprise groups— including Unruly Isis now rebranded to Peace Masjid— said he had been keeping the Enterprise situation under control.
Abdullah said he believed Basdeo’s murder was an isolated one-off incident and didn’t mean a revival of gang wars.
“Mr Basdeo was a very good person. All the groups say he helped all Muslims. I was meeting with one group on Sunday when I got a call from Keron Alexis (Robocop’s son) about the shooting,” he said.
