The eldest brother and three other relatives of People’s National Movement (PNM) political leader candidate Pennelope Beckles-Robinson will appear before an Arima magistrate today on gun and ammunition charges. On Saturday, Northern Division officers carried out a raid at two houses in the Malabar, Arima and seized an AK-47 assault rifle, a pump action shotgun, a .44 revolver and a .357 revolver, and 72 rounds of assorted ammunition at a house on Swift Avenue, Phase III, Malabar.
At a another house at Cocorico Avenue, Phase III, police said they found 37 rounds of ammunition and seven people were arrested there. Police said search warrants were executed at both houses after months of surveillance. The arresting officers conducted a news briefing at the Arima Police Station on Saturday where they displayed the cache of arms and ammunition. They confirmed that one of the houses was owned by Beckles-Robinson’s relative.
Police charged the suspects from Swift Avenue yesterday afternoon with the possession of firearms and ammunition. Officers said up to late last night, the suspects were all being charged and processed and were not released bail. One of the suspects has also worked on Beckles-Robinson campaign. The other seven suspects in the Cocorico Avenue home will also be appearing in court charged with possession of ammunition.
Northern Division Senior superintendant David Abraham on Saturday commended the officers for their diligent work. Within the past few years, the community has been described as a major “hot spot.” A quantity of firearms and ammunition have been seized at various houses during a crackdown in crime exercise in the Arima district. Beckles-Robinson will come up against the incumbent political leader of the PNM, Dr Keith Rowley in the party’s May 18 internal elections.
At a meeting on Saturday night at Sangre Grande Beckles-Robinson confirmed that her eldest brother, his wife, nephew and sister-in-law’s brother were arrested on Saturday afternoon at a raid on a Malabar home.