Crackdown On Illegal Quarrying Operation In Arima — EIGHTEEN (18) Arrested
In a decisive strike against environmental and economic sabotage, the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) said it has formally charged eighteen (18) individuals in connection with the operation of an illegal mineral processing facility, located in Manuel Congo, Tumpuna, Arima.
The TTPS notes that this was as a result of a co-ordinated exercise, which was executed on Thursday (9th October, 2025), by Commissioner of Police (CoP), Allister Guevarro, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Natasha George, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), Richard Smith, and Superintendent Leon Haynes.
The suspects have been charged under Section 45 of the Minerals Act, Chapter 61:03, for the unlawful processing of minerals and are due to appear in Court on 22nd October, 2025, after having secured bail from a Justice of the Peace (JP) on Saturday (11th October, 2025).
Investigations remain active as Officers pursue additional evidence and identify further conspirators.
According to the TTPS, “The operation, which was supported by the Multi-Agency Task Force (MATF), Multi-Option Police Section (MOPS), Special Operations Unit (SOU), and the Coastal and Air Support Unit (CASU), targeted entrenched illegal quarrying activities that have cost the State hundreds of millions of dollars. These losses stem not only from deforestation and unauthorized extraction of aggregate material, but also from the downstream financing of organized crime, including gang violence and homicides linked to territorial control of these illicit sites.”
CoP Guevarro praised the Officers for their diligence and strategic precision, reaffirming the TTPS’ commitment to protecting national resources and public safety. He emphasized that the Service will pursue every evidential lead in an effort to “extract” all those involved and called on citizens to stand with law enforcement in dismantling organized criminal networks.
“They dug deep to steal aggregate,” CoP Guevarro remarked, “But we dug deeper and this time, it wasn’t gravel we extracted.”
More on this as it becomes available.
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