A Cayman police helicopter has been deployed to a sister British Overseas Territory amid a crime wave and 24 murders so far this year.
The Cayman aircraft, one of two, and its crew were sent to Turks and Caicos Islands to help the police there with surveillance and rapid response capabilities in a major national security operation designed to crack down on violent crime.
Cayman’s Commissioner of Police Kurt Walton said on Facebook it was important to support British Overseas Territory colleagues “whenever possible”.
He added, “Our second helicopter was purchased with additional funding from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, partly to enable us to provide assistance when needed, while maintaining local security.
“We are happy to be able to do so for Turks & Caicos during this critical time.”
The news came only weeks after three men died and 10 other people were injured in a shooting at a popular nightspot on Providenciales, the biggest island of the chain, on 27 July.
Curfews have also been imposed in some areas as police clamp down in a bid to restore order.
Charles Washington Misick, the Turks and Caicos premier, told a press conference afterwards that some in the country’s Haitian community knew how illegal firearms were smuggled in.
He said, “We are now having a gangland-type slaying, and a lot of this gang violence seems to be concentrated in our Haitian communities.”
The Turks and Caicos police service, in a joint operation with other government agencies, has also recently levelled more than 200 illegal buildings in the Blue Hills area of Providenciales, known to be used by criminals and undocumented migrants.
Cayman police air resources have been deployed to Turks and Caicos before amid outbreaks of violent crime.
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