BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – SECURITY OFFICERS from around St. Kitts recently channelled their efforts into an island-wide joint operation which has been deemed a success.

According to a police press release, the operation was conducted jointly between the Royal St. Christopher and Nevis Police Force and the St. Kitts-Nevis Defence Force during the evening of Friday, September 11 into the early morning hours of the following day.

By the end of the exercise, the police explained, “Over 100 persons (were)…stopped and searched for illegal drugs, arms and ammunition. Over 20 traffic tickets were issued for offences ranging from driving with one head lamp to driving without a driver’s license and a number of motorists warned for seatbelt violations.”

Ten individuals were arrested and charged with offences, which included “urinating in a public place” and “possession of a controlled substance”. 

In addition, the team executed two search warrants in the Sandy Point area for ammunition, stolen goods and illegal drugs but “nothing illegal was found at those premises”.

The communiqué outlines the objectives of the exercise as being “to identify traffic violations and enforce traffic laws, to detect and prevent crime by targeting known offenders and suspicious persons, execute outstanding warrants and generally re-assure citizens and residents”.

Inspector Cromwell Henry of the police force Press and Public Relations Department told SKNVibes that the operation was a success and expects that, in time, similar operations would be conducted, although not necessarily on the same scale.

The Police and Defence Forces have expressed gratitude to the public for its “cooperation during this exercise”.

Meanwhile, a Ghana citizen, El-Jorda Raba Awal, was remanded to Her Majesty’s Prison after appearing before the magistrate court to answer to the charge of “fraud”.

The incident, according to police, was committed on September 3, 2009.

For the offences of “possession of cannabis” and “possession of cannabis with intent to supply”, Dave Powell of Upper Cayon was arrested, charged and has since been released on bail.