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AN ILLEGAL quarry operator is pumping tonnes of silt into the Guanapo River threatening to disrupt the water supply to thousands of residents.

On June 25, officers of an elite police special unit, the Multi-Agency Task Force, were alerted to the illegal quarrying activity and the report has reached the desk of Commissioner of Police Allister Guevarro, Newsday was reliably informed.

The quarry operator, based in Sangre Grande, has carved out more than five hectares of state land excavating tonnes of aggregate to stockpiles on private land, police confirmed. The operator, who does not have a mining licence, has for years excavated hectares of state lands in Melajo, in Sangre Grande, Matura, Wallerfield and other areas with little intervention by the Ministry of Energy and Energy Industries, the Environmental Management Agency, Forestry Division of the police.