Caption: 200 cases of Johnnie Walker were seized

• Also seized 1,000 cases of vodka, 200 cases of Johnnie Walker, 200 cases of Hennessy, and 1,000 cases of ATLANTA cigarettes

THE Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) says it seized large quantities of contraband, cash, marijuana, ammunition and an AR-15 rifle during coordinated operations in Carenage, St Augustine and Caroni between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.

In a statement on Wednesday, police said officers of the Port of Spain Division Investigation and Operations Unit—supported by the Port of Spain Task Force, the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) and the Canine Unit—intercepted a vessel at Shore Pier 3, Carenage, at about 8.15 pm on Tuesday December 16, 2025.

16 held for contraband

Police said the vessel was observed offloading boxes when officers approached. Sixteen people were apprehended after attempting to flee the area, the release stated.

A search of the vessel and the items being offloaded uncovered what police described as a large shipment of contraband smuggled from Suriname. The items seized included approximately 1,000 cases of vodka, 200 cases of Johnnie Walker, 200 cases of Hennessy, and 1,000 cases of ATLANTA cigarettes. Police also seized four trucks “in relation to the find.”

Several hours later, between 3 am and 9.30 am on Wednesday December 17, police said a second set of coordinated operations was carried out in the Northern and Central divisions.

The TTPS said officers attached to the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Operations) Unit, Municipal Operations (MOPs), Defence Force specialist units, the Fusion Centre and the Prison Service executed search warrants at multiple locations in St Augustine and Caroni.

At one location, police said officers seized 1,142 grammes of cannabis, TT$115,204 in cash and US$550. Four people were detained in connection with the discovery.

At another nearby premises, police said an AR-15 rifle was recovered.

Police said follow-up searches were later conducted with the assistance of K9 Chappo. During those searches, officers reportedly found a buried yellow bucket in an abandoned lot. Inside the bucket, police said, were five kilogrammes of marijuana along with quantities of ammunition: 65 rounds of 9mm, 239 rounds of 5.56mm ammunition and 50 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition.

 

In the release, Commissioner of Police Alister Guevarro and Deputy Commissioner Suzette Martin commended the officers and units involved, describing the operations as “island-wide precision operations.”