By Sue-Ann Wayow
THOUSANDS of illegal tobacco items along with electronic items, cash and gambling machines were seized in July alone under “Operation Inchbrook”.
The Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) in a press release on Sunday stated that last month, searches were conducted at a number of restaurants, bars, supermarkets and mini-marts across various policing divisions, which led to the arrest of two businessmen and the seizure of the items.
These include 81,320 illicit tobacco items, 552 electrical items believed to be substandard, $43,088 TT currency and a reprogrammed cash register from an illegal Play Whe site and 13 unauthorized gambling machines.
On July 22, charges of “Selling Tobacco products that are not packaged and labelled in a manner that complies with the requirements of the Tobacco Control Act and Regulations”, were laid virtually, at the Port of Spain Magistrates Court, against Mingting Zheng and Edmund Chee.
Acting Commissioner of Police Mc Donald Jacob commenting on “Operation Inchbrook” said, “Criminal activity does not occur in silos, but are all in some way interconnected, and any incursion made to stop organized crime from flourishing and expanding is a positive step forward”.
He further said that illegal and substandard products put citizens at risk, and illegal gambling and gaming are channels for money laundering and other nefarious activities.
‘Operation Inchbrook’ involved Multi-Agency Task Force (MATF) personnel, who were joined by officials of the Trinidad and Tobago Fire Service, the Bureau of Standards, the Ministry of Health-Chemistry, Food and Drug Division, the Ministry of Public Utilities- Government Electrical Inspectorate Division and the Occupational Safety and Health Authority and Agency.
