Peace Agreement Between Gangs

A PEACE AGREEMENT has been reached between the reputed gang bosses of the Sixx gang and the Rasta City gang following a wave of savage killings between the rival gangs along the East-West Corridor that has worsened in recent weeks. Rasta City gang is also known as the Seven gang. Over the last 48 hours, with the help of senior police officials, officers from the Port of Spain Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) said they were able to arrange a peace deal between the gang bosses to stop the blood-letting. “Both leaders we spoke with told us they both wanted peace. And in turn, sent messages through their own mediums to also give each other the reassurance that they wanted peace on the streets,” an IATF police officer told the Express yesterday. When asked about the gang-related killings that have exploded in the last few weeks, the IATF officer, who spoke with the Express via phone yesterday, remarked, “He (Rasta City head Prezzi) is not really for this war. He (Sixx gang head Tyson) has also told us that wants to work this out and hopes that the peace will hold.” His Sixx gang counterpart (alias Tyson), who had been held together with alleged gang members since last Thursday following a massive police operation in Port of Spain and environs, was released on Sunday evening along with numerous other people from the Carenage Police Station. However, since two attempts had been on his (Tyson’s) life in the past, the IATF officer said his team made special arrangements to have Tyson and the other men picked up safely from the Carenage Police Station and taken to the St Paul Street area in East Port of Spain. An attempt was made to kill the reputed Sixx boss in June 2021 after he left the Four Roads Police Station in Diego Martin. Gunmen opened fire on the car he was in on Wrightson Road during midday traffic near Colville Street but he was grazed by a bullet. Another attempt was also made on his life last year. What triggered the war The IATF officer gave some insight into what has triggered this bloody gang war over the last few weeks. “Things that happen involve certain people who are connected to certain people. They try to settle disagreements through violence and one act of violence leads to reprisal killings. Reprisals account for about 35 per cent of the killings and if police can get to them before that, we could minimise this. When there is a shooting over the years we realise that quick intervention prevents reprisal killings,” he explained. Sources say the killing of Nesta “Pappi” Sammy from Cocorite, who was shot dead on October 29 at the SuperPharm car park in Diego Martin, triggered the bloody gang war between the rivals. Within 24 hours of Pappi’s killing four men were shot dead at the corner of Smart Place and Belmont Circular Road in apparent reprisal for Pappi’s killing. They were Kerron Moore, 31, Brandon Forde,23, Chivon Clarke, 26, and Brian Padmore, 27. Sources say that one of the men targeted was an associate of the Sixx gang. Parts of Belmont near the Rifle Hill area are now heavily under the control of the Sixx gang, while the Rasta City members are based in the St Francois Valley Road area. The former Belmont gang boss and one of his right-hand men, known in the underworld as “Frosty”, have fled the country because they are wanted for questioning in gang-related killings. This, in turn, has allowed the Sixx gang to expand its reach into the Belmont neighbourhood. Collateral damage On November 7, Darryl Boucard, who police senior sources say was an affiliate of the ABG gang who had formed an alliance with the Sixx gang, was shot dead in St Ann’s at his home. Police believe Keston “Bumbles” Munroe — who they say was a left-hand lieutenant of the Rasta City gang — committed the act. Hours after the killing, police detained Bumbles, from Calvary Hill, East Dry River, for questioning into Boucard’s killing. Bumbles was freed from the Belmont Police Station last Monday, and reports indicate Sixx gang members, who had been tipped off by police officers from a specific unit, were parked a short distance away from the Belmont Police Station waiting for Bumbles as he left the station. He was shot numerous times in retaliation for Boucard’s death by gunmen in the vehicle who then fled. Before Bumbles was shot dead, there was a double murder in St Ann’s in which Franz Lavine was shot dead and Hayden Ettiene, alias Dole, was killed near the 69 Sports Grill and Bar. Sources say Lavine was collateral damage and the intended victim was Dole. The killings were allegedly done by the Sixx gang. Retaliatory killings In retaliation for the shooting of Bumbles, gang members associated with the Rasta City gang opened fire on a group of men early Friday morning at the corner of St Paul and Rodney streets just behind the Besson Street Police Station. The gunmen pulled up in a black BMW just after 8 a.m. and opened fire on the group of men who were liming. Jason Alexander, a mechanic from the area, and 26-year-old PTSC employee, Shawndelle Bernard, were killed. In apparent retaliation for the Friday shootings, police sources said members of the Sixx gang in a black X-Trail opened fire on a crowd on Duncan Street in Port of Spain on Saturday night. Police identified one of the victims as 23-year-old Christian Sansavoir of Duncan Street in Port of Spain, while five others were shot and injured. Police responding to the shooting discovered the black X-Trail involved in the shooting abandoned in the St Paul Street neighbourhood. In a voice note to the media on Friday, Commissioner of Police Erla Christopher vowed to deal with the gangsters responsible for these violent crimes and underlined that the police were still in control.