An alliance between the Sixx gang and other criminal gangs to wipe out their rivals is one of the key reasons behind the decision to impose a state of emergency (SoE), according to a national security source.
Information from both behind prison walls intercepted by the Strategic Services Agency and authorised wire taps provided police with new information about the intended violent assault, police said.
Police said the alliance has dramatically increased the number of gang members now under the Sixx gang which operates out of St Paul Street, East Port of Spain. Their main rivals are members of the Seven gang, with bases in Beetham Gardens and Sea Lots.
The daring gun attack against Calvin Lee, also known as Tyson, outside the Besson Street Police Station on December 27 and suspected retaliation where five men were killed in Prizgar Lands, Laventille on December 28, ignited the gang war to unprecedented levels, police said.
A man identified as Trevor Williams was killed when gunmen armed with automatic rifles, lying in wait in a panel van parked opposite the police station, opened fire on Lee and a group of men outside the police station.
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On Sunday around 8.30 pm Kambon Omowale, 39, Cleon Lubin St John, 37, Ryna Lessey, 23, Derron Calliste, 35 and Gareth Smart, 45, of Thomasine Street, Laventille, were shot dead by three gunmen while liming in front a shop on Prizgar Lands Circular.
One of the cars police believe the gunmen used was found in St Paul Street shortly after the shooting.
Police said the delay in getting search warrants under the relatively new legislation governing criminal investigations has hampered their ability to effectively prosecute gang members and recover guns. Under the SoE imposed on December 30, police can search premises and people without warrants, bail applications have been suspended and people can be detained for up to nine days before being charged or released.
Targeted searches, with help from the canine unit, began early on December 30 in East Port of Spain.
Police believe the searches are already bearing fruit as Lee, a close female relative and another man were held around 7 am on Monday.
Residents call for calm
As residents of Prizgar Lands, Laventille brace for an onslaught of further violence after the five murders, relatives of one of the slain men are pleading with warring gangs in the area to put down their guns.
A resident who asked not to be identified told Newsday on Monday many residents fear they will be collateral damage in the war between the Sixx gang and Nine gang.
Sixx controls a significant portion of East Port of Spain while Nine controls an area spanning Gonzales, Belmont to Caledonia, Morvant.
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Nine has reportedly formed an alliance with Seven to fight against what they believe is Sixx’s attempt to expand its territory further east.
The resident said, “The majority of people here not in no numbers thing.
“But right now, they saying down to the dogs and all (in Prizgar Lands) they want to deal with, so we just staying quiet and humble.”
One of the dead men, Omowale, was the son of Lidj Yasu Omowale, for whom the Emancipation Village at the Queen’s Park Savannah is named.
His relatives told journalists at the Forensic Science Centre on Monday the community is still in shock and grief as four of the five men killed were innocent bystanders.
“Our area is not known is not known for having any sort of gun violence or anything like that because it has been very quiet for a very long time so this was a huge shock.
“One of the people who died is known to the police. It seems like the gunmen came for him and the others were just there. They were just collateral damage.”
His relatives pleaded with members of the warring gangs in the area to put down their guns and let the community can find a sense of peace once again.
“I hope... there's no reprisal shooting and nobody don't take it upon themselves to seek justice.
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“We still have to live in the community and we really don't want any sort of violence to take place.
“I don't want anybody to end anybody’s life on our behalf. I just want this to be a one-off incident and we go back to being how we were.”
Murder in Morvant hours after SoE declared
Hours after the SoE was declared, and minutes before the National Security Minister and the acting Attorney General hosted a press conference on Monday, a man was murdered in a brazen shooting in Morvant.
Peter Ferdinand "Froggy" Shoy, 52, was shot dead at around 9.30 am outside his apartment at Building D, Paradise Heights.
Shoy, a contractor, was near a bathroom on the ground floor of the building when several loud explosions were heard.
Upon checking, residents found him lying motionless with gunshot wounds. A resident claimed Shoy was involved in crime when he was younger, but had changed his life and converted to Christianity several years ago.
After the shooting, heavily armed police swarmed the area, ushered away onlookers and secured the scene.
Less than an hour after the minister announced the parameters of the SoE, officers began searching apartments in the area.
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Accompanied by sniffer dogs, police went from door-to-door, knocking on residents’ doors and burglar proofing, entering apartments and carrying out searches.
Residents welcomed the searches and said they are fed up with the amount of crime.
A man who has been living in the community for more than three decades told Newsday while he did not know the motive behind the shooting, he was happy with the police’s response.
“I’m glad for this kind of (police) visit because the place under a kind of meditation right now.”
He said based on his religious beliefs and the crime situation, he had no objection to the SoE regulations or the door-to-door searches.
“I am a Bobo (Ashanti) so I does hold laws and commandments and it’s a right I defending any day. We fed up of this s--- boy, we real fed up. And it's not only in Paradise Heights, it's all over the country.
“They don't need a warrant to come by me. Just come in! I telling them, ‘Come in!’”
He said law-abiding citizens should have nothing to fear.
“I think everybody up here is pleased about this. I don't think it will have anybody (who is displeased). Anybody who is against this, it’s because they're dealing with illegal stuff.
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“Everybody's supposed to be glad and open up their place and tell the police to come in.”
He added while he understood the concerns voiced by some people, the SoE – and the resulting heavy police presence in the area – is for the greater good.
“It will have people who will be for it and people who are against it because they have privacy concerns. But when you see what's going on, we have to put aside privacy and our own personal feelings and try to communicate with the law and try to see if we could do something better.”
An elderly man said the police operation in the community is an example of the popular adage “better late than never”.
“It’s a good operation. It is definitely needed. They should have started that before now but they start it now and I’m okay with it.”
Commenting on the crime situation, another man jokingly said gunmen were helping the government to save money.
“Why the young prime minister don't drop the old age pension to be 15? Them gunmen ent reaching the age to (be eligible for) pension. The government getting all that pension money. It’s best they drop the pension age. Why they raising it higher? It's only young people dying."
He said crime has become unbearable and has prevented citizens from doing basic things they enjoy.
“I used to clean in front my building. Every day at 6 am I come out and clean this area because I’m retired. It seize my blood that I can't come out because I’m uncomfortable now. It is sad.”
