A 40-year-old man from Toco was fined $30,000 on one count of Possession of a Shotgun and Possession of One 12-guage Cartridge by a Sangre Grande Magistrate.

According to the TTPS, GERALD JOSEPH, a labourer, of Toco Main Road, Balandra, who pleaded guilty to the offences, was fined $15,000 on each of the charges by Magistrate Cheron Raphael.

Joseph was given 12 months to pay the fines or serve three years of hard labour in default. He was charged on December 8th by Cpl Andrews, of the Toco Police Station (TPS), who led a raid in search of firearms and ammunition at the suspect’s home.

According to police reports, at 1.35 pm on December 8th, police officers executed a search warrant at Joseph’s home during which they allegedly found the firearm and ammunition. He was immediately arrested and subsequently charged with the offences.

The operation was coordinated by Inspector (Ag.) Sankar and supervised Sgt Edwards and included personnel from the TPS and the Mounted and Canine Branch.