According to the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service, the 11 suspects — ranging in age from 19 to 44 — were detained on Thursday night during coordinated exercises across the Arima, Wallerfield, Guanapo, and Malabar districts in the country’s east.

Five additional suspects were arrested for possession of firearms, ammunition, and cocaine for trafficking. “They were found in possession of a black revolver loaded with six rounds, and a pistol with a magazine containing 16 rounds of ammunition,” police said. Two more suspects, aged 41 and 39, were detained in connection with assault occasioning actual bodily harm, while two others from Arima were held for outstanding investigations into store break-ins and larceny.

Authorities also charged an inmate on Thursday with possession of prohibited items, stemming from an incident the previous day at Golden Grove Prison along the East-West Corridor. Police reported that Rajee Ali — one of several men charged with the 2014 murder of former special prosecutor Dana Seetahal — was found with a Samsung cellphone, an unbranded SIM card, and a phone charger, “items considered prohibited without express authorization from the Commissioner of Prisons.”

“The Trinidad and Tobago Police Service remains committed to maintaining the integrity of our correctional facilities and ensuring accountability for breaches of prison security protocols,” the police statement added. (Jamaica Gleaner)