FOR more than two hours, the lives of policemen stationed at the Valencia Police Post were in danger as three prisoners, including a murder suspect, were in a cell next to the small charge room with a loaded 9mm gun.

Cops at the station are still shocked at the discovery of the pistol with three rounds of ammunition by a cleaner, two days after the prisoners were removed and taken to the Sangre Grande Station.

A police source told TnT Mirror that on Sunday June l8, officers of the Eastern Division Task Force had set up a road block in the Valencia area looking out for a suspect wanted in connection with the Ortoire/Mayaro “execution” of Jason Marine three weeks ago.

A car with three men was stopped and when the officers searched the vehicle, they found a quantity of ammunition.

The men were arrested and placed in a cell at the Valencia Police Post.

After the roadblock exercise was completed some two hours later, the cops returned to the station and charged the three men, including a man from Mayaro, with possession of ammunition.

They were removed from the police post and taken to the Sangre Grande station to appear in court the following day.

Two days later (on Tuesday) a female worker while cleaning out the station found the gun wrapped in a bandanna in a corner of the cell and alerted officers at the station.

The police sources said it would appear that one of the men had the gun strapped to his leg with the bandanna and the police officers did not carry out a proper body search of the prisoners before placing them in the cell.

Officers are thanking their lucky stars that a “bad man” or a mentally deranged man or a coke addict was not placed in the cell between Sunday night and Monday or their lives could have been in danger.

The gun has since been sent to the Forensic Science Centre, Federation Park, St. James, to determine if it was the same firearm that was used to shoot Marine in his head on the bank of the Ortoire River.

Police have since been searching for two men -- one from Mayaro and the other from Belmont in connection with the killing .

Police are working on a theory that the murder was drug-related.

Marine’s uncle, Peter, 47, a CEPEP contractor, was also shot dead on May 4 in Mayaro.

Assistant Commissioner of Police (Crime) Clive “Clothes” Reyes said an Inspector of police has been assigned to probe the blunder by the Task Force officers at Valencia.

Senior officers have expressed concern over the way police officers have been carrying out their duties in a lackadaisical manner in dealing with prisoners.

Just a few weeks ago, a man who was taken to the Sangre Grande Police Station to be charged with assault, took a fatal dose of poison while he was in a room next to the charge room.

The prisoner reportedly had the small vial of poison in his pocket.

And over the weekend, a prisoner who was taken to the Belmont Station and charged with an offence, was discovered with a knife when he was taken to the Central Police Station to be placed in a cell.