Haiti - Insecurity : Arrests of criminals and seizure of weapons
On April 9, 2011, between 6:00am and 9:30 am members of the United Nations Mission for the Stabilization of Haiti (MINUSTAH) military component's Second Brazilian Battalion (BRABAT 2), the Haitian National Police (HNP) and the UN Police (UNPOL) conducted a sweep operation in the Cité de Dieu neighborhood of Port-au-Prince, resulting in the apprehension of eight suspected criminals and the confiscation of multiple weapons. UNPOL and PNH organized and planned Operation Angel based on intelligence while BRABAT 2 provided security and support during the course of the operation.
In this operation, the support of the Minustah has been asked by the Divisional Inspector Jean Laguerre Civil, the head of the Sub-Police station of Portail Léogâne. An operation which saw the involvement of more than 200 people, including 160 soldiers, 16 UNPol and 35 members of the intervention force of the PNH (SWAT Team), with their armored vehicles, pickup trucks and troop carriers allowed the arrest of eight people who were part of a gang "very active and dangerous". One of them would be responsible for the murder of a police officer, according to the information of the spokesman for the UN police, Jean-François Vézina. Similarly, were seized, a Uzi submachine gun, nearly 100 cartridges of 9 mm, 2 cartridges of 5.56 mm, 5 chargers of 9 mm, including two of high-capacity and four mobile phones.
"We had received information that several criminals were in the neighborhood, and we wanted them removed," said Maj. Gen. Eduardo Luiz Ramos, MINUSTAH Force Commander. "Our MINUSTAH mission is to ensure a safe environment for the Haitian people. Today, we definitely made it a bit safer when we were able to remove weapons and ammunition from the hands of armed gang members, and take these suspected criminals off the street [...] we will continue these joint operations. It is important that the military, UNPOL and the HNP continue working closely together to provide order and security and make these neighborhoods safe places to live and work."
