CASTRIES, St. Lucia, CMC – Police have arrested one person and seized ammunition and a bulletproof vest as they continue their investigations into the violent weekend murders earlier this month that left seven people dead in the southern town of Vieux Fort.
A police statement said that 22-year-old Arenato Soumere had been detained over the weekend and charged with the death of 59-year-old Loraine Savery, who was among individuals killed during the March 10-12 weekend in Vieux Fort.
The police said that following their crackdown on criminal activity in the community last weekend, two men are currently in custody after they were found with 42 rounds of nine mm ammunition and a bulletproof vest.
The police said they had also arrested six people for various offenses, including possessing M-16 assault rifle ammunition and illegal drugs.
Last Thursday, the police arrested 22-year-old Delbert Daniel for possessing a nine mm Luger and 13 rounds of ammunition. The man was later released on EC$50,000 (One EC dollar=US$0.37 cents) bail.
Earlier this month, Prime Minister Phillip J.Pierre, who is also the Minister of National Security, announced that Vieux Fort South had been designated an escalated crime zone under the Suppression of Escalated Crime (Police Powers) legislation that grants expanded powers to the police, who have been patrolling the area alongside troops from the Barbados-based Regional Security System (RSS) invited here to assist in bringing peace to the community.
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