ARMY officers have locked down Camp Ogden, at Long Circular Road, St. James, checking on soldiers kits to ascertain whether any of their uniforms are missing.

More than 300 soldiers will have to account for all the uniforms that were supplied to them.

The inventory has come as a result of the number of camouflage uniforms the police have been recently uncovering during raids.

Over the past two weeks, police seized a number of soldiers uniforms in raids at Laventille.

There are reports that soldiers are selling their uniforms -- new and some old ones -- to criminals.

Bandits are dressing like soldiers to hold up and rob victims.

Sources at Defence Force Headquarters say that they are focusing on Camp Ogden, where most of the soldiers, whose ages range between 19-23, had joined the army about three years ago. Some of them are suspected to be linked to criminal gangs.

TnT Mirror understands that over the past year, about 10 soldiers from Camp Ogden were discharged from the army for various reasons ranging from indiscipline to being involved in criminal activities.

The Regiment infantry battalion is stationed at Camp Ogden.

Soldiers from there go on foot patrols, while others have teamed up with the police to carry out patrols in Port of Spain, Laventille and Morvant.

Sources say every soldier at Camp Ogden is currently under scrutiny and the camp has been described as a “hot spot,”

A Defence Force spokesman explained that the camouflage uniforms which are in the hands of criminals may have also come from the stores at various camps or the main store.

He explained that when soldiers turn in their used uniforms, they are sent to the stores (every camp has a store) and are kept there for more than a year before they are removed to the main store.

“Because of the long process, uniforms can disappear from any one of the stores,” the officer added.