Police last night said that gang members, drugs and guns had been confined over Cup Match by the biggest police operation of the year.Before the holiday, authorities had been concerned that criminals would exploit the long weekend.Commending the public for their support, Acting Assistant Police Commissioner Martin Weekes announced that the holiday had passed without serious incidents.Although a number of well-attended Cup Match events closed early, he stressed that the final decisions had ultimately been made by the organisers, not police.He said police had been working more closely with the Senior Magistrate in issuing liquor licenses for events, and would work on developing protocols with event organisers.Saying that some production companies were better than others, Mr Weekes added: “We have gone past the days when you can invite 12,000 of your friends to a beach party, and that’s as much organising as you do.”On Wednesday night, organisers of the Horseshoe Bay BeachFest responded to minor outbreaks of antisocial behaviour by shutting the party down after dark.At a Soca and Reggae show, a DJ who used expletives was asked to come off the stage.The public’s reaction in both cases had been positive, Mr Weekes said.Asked about rumours of a knife incident at the Horseshoe Bay event, he said: “I have read those on social media.“No reports of a stabbing were brought to police attention, and nobody attended the hospital for that reason over the weekend.”He praised the public along with members of the police reserve and the Bermuda Regiment for keeping the Island safe.Policing lasted from Wednesday night until yesterday morning.“Hours of preparation and planning were put in, and long shifts were worked over the weekend to put that plan into action,” Mr Weekes said.These efforts included “rolling road blocks”.Acknowledging a “knock on effect” on ordinary members of the public from road checks designed to target gang members, he said that police had initiated a “yellow card” system” for the weekend, allowing officers to issue the card equivalent of a verbal warning instead of automatically writing tickets.The cards were given out for minor traffic offences, to mitigate the inconvenience caused by police stops.Motorists were surprised and taken aback to be issued with yellow cards, he said, “but I think everyone went away with a smile”.The yellow cards were not used in place of parking tickets, however.Mr Weekes noted there had been “a number of areas with serious parking issues many on roads where there were yellow centre lines”.Rescue vehicles such as fire trucks and ambulances would not have been able to gain access, in the event of an emergency.Saying police were happy with anti-gang and anti-weapons measures, Mr Weekes added: “On behalf of the Commissioner of Police, we thank the public and the community in general for helping us make Bermuda safer over the Cup Match period.”