The government is proposing a six-month ban on the export of scrap iron to treat with the ongoing theft of copper cable.
National Security Minister Fitzgerald General Hinds made the disclosure at a media conference on Friday.
The response follows the latest incident in which thieves and vandals struck WASA’s California Booster Station on Thursday, stealing electrical cables and disabling the facility.
Similarly, over the weekend, vandalism of TSTT’s underground cables resulted in service interruptions across South Trinidad.
Hinds condemned the “malicious acts” and warned that measures are coming to treat with the issue, including a heightened police focus on public utilities installations, and legislative changes.
He said: “The proposal in front of the Cabinet right now is to ban the exportation (of scrap iron) for six months during which time the Minister of Trade and Industry will make regulations to more effectively manage this industry and the activity that we now complain of.”
“The intelligence agencies in this country have been paying close attention to some of the deliberations that are taking place in public spaces and public offices. As a consequence, the police supported by the Defence Force are very mindful of some of the plots taking place,” Hinds added.
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