The 2011 carnival celebrations in Trinidad and Tobago were very successful and on Monday nearly all the ministers and other lawmakers had their fun tramping on stage.
The US Ambassador Beatrice Wilkinson Welters joined in the merrymaking, prancing with Prime Minister Kamla Persad Bissessar and Culture Minister “Gypsy” Peters.
But while the merrymaking was going on the police were very busy.
The Guardian newspaper reported that a series of minor offences committed during J’Ouvert celebrations led to the arrest of 150 people in north Trinidad for robbery, possession of firearms and ammunition, weapons, possession of marijuana and cocaine, wounding, larceny and other crimes.
The newspaper report stated that, as result, the cells at Belmont, Central and Woodbrook Police Stations and across the East-West Corridor were reported to be “packed to capacity”.
There were numerous reports of fights and pick-pocketing. Dozens of knives were seized by the police during searches of people entering City Gate at the maxi taxi hub.
Twenty-three persons were also arrested during the Carnival celebrations in Toco, Matura, Manzanilla and Sangre Grande.
