PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – Trinidad and Tobago has bolstered its crime fighting ability with the arrival of a TT$15 million (US$2.4 million) sky ship which is to be used for aerial surveillance of the country’s hot spots.
A statement from the Special Anti-Crime Unit of T&T (SAUTT) confirmed that the police collected the sky ship last Tuesday.
This is the third blimp that has been assigned to the Police Service in the past several months.
It was purchased from Airship Management Corporation. The cost was reportedly offset by the trade-in two ships – one which was purchased previously and the other which was leased.
The new sky ship should take to the skies in two weeks after being outfitted with surveillance equipment, the police said.
There has been withering public criticism of the police’s aerial strategy which is said to be costly and ineffective. But with the murder rate increasing daily, the police are beefing up their security arsenal.