Tuesday February 9th, 2010
- Last update:14 hours 13 min ago
15 guns taken from Woodbrook firm
Published: 26 Oct 2009
Estate Constable Leslie Thompson, walks away from
the scene of yesterday’s robbery at Alfredo Street
in Woodbrook. Photo: MARCUS GONZALES
As police struggled with their fight in ridding the streets of illegal firearms, 15 guns fell into the hands of criminals, after a daring daylight robbery at a security firm in Woodbrook, yesterday. Up to late last evening, officers were searching for a man believed to be connected with MI-5 Investigations Ltd, who they believe may have been involved in the robbery. The suspect, who investigators said was an ex-inmate of the Youth Training Centre in Arouca, was one of two men who robbed the Alberto Street, Woodbrook, office of the security firm. Sources close to the investigation said 13, 9mm pistols, a revolver and a shotgun were taken from the establishment. It was unclear if ammunition was stolen. Fingerprints experts were unable to lift print impressions from the scene. Officers from the Information Technology Unit have viewed several surveillance tapes on the premises which captured the incident.
Up to late last night, police were at the scene conducting investigations. According to police, the incident occurred around 3:15pm. Estate Constable Leslie Thompson, who was on duty at the office, was beaten with a gun butt by one of the armed men who proceeded to tie her up with duct tape. Thompson also lost a tooth during the incident. She told officers she was on duty at the office when a man dressed in a uniform resembling that of MI-5 and another as a police officer came towards the front door. Investigators said Thompson recognised one of the men, who told her through an intercom he came to drop off some documents. Both men were allowed entry through two doors. One of the men whipped out a gun and announced a hold-up. Thompson was beaten and tied up.
The suspects then stole 15 guns from a steel box which was under a counter. The suspects, who drove down Alfredo Street, a one-way street, are believed to have made their escape in a blue Hyundai motorcar, with registration PBH 1545. The vehicle and the men were seen outside the security company around 10:30 in the morning. As word about the incident reached the Police Command Centre in St James, scores of heavily-armed officers from the Inter-Agency Task Force, Guard and Emergency Branch, Port-of-Spain Division Task Force, Organised Crime, Narcotics and Firearms Bureau, Criminal Intelligence Unit, Criminal Investigations Division and the Repeat Offenders Programme rushed to the scene. Several residents in the area have expressed shock over the incident.
I MAKING A PREDICTION. WHEN
I MAKING A PREDICTION. WHEN THIS CRIME IS SOLVED, IT WAS AN INSIDE JOB.
PNM_TILL_I_DIE
According to newscasts last
According to newscasts last night and other dailies the guns were in fact loaded. Who is the genius who owns this company which allows guns to sit in a "steel box" fully loaded. Common sense would dictate that the guns be kept in either a keypad or combination lock safe and ammunition be loaded when the firearm issued in order to maintain proper checks and balances. Judging from the details given one of the thieves has to be a former or current employee as the guard on duty claimed to recognise him. I fully blame the owner of this establishment for this crime and the supervisor who puts a lone female guard on duty to protect this establishment
A lone female who obviously
A lone female who obviously is not physically fit to repell or fast react to any potential agression. Police staff should be maintain a certain degree of physical tone for the job they are supposed to do.
Since when someone being
Since when someone being physically fit, is going to be a deterrent to bandits.(jeez what a dumb thing to say!!)
They would have still robbed the place. Also this woman is not a police officier but a security officier.
To Victorias, I agree fully
To Victorias, I agree fully with your statement on persons maintaining physical tone to perform adequately jobs of a protective nature.
Firstly, anyone who is overweight and seeks to enlist in any of the Protective Services would be turned away.
Secondly, a fat person cannot move with alacrity and can be liability in times of crisis. They cannot pursue bandits on foot and it becomes a great risk to themselves and the public at large for the first thing they will try to do is shoot.
All persons in this career have an obligation to remain fit and maintain a healthy weight if they really care about themselves and the profession. I think fitness should always be a criterion for promotion in the Protective Services.
This security Company seems
This security Company seems to know very little about security. How on earth did they get a licence to operate, let alone to own such firearms and ammunition? Don't the Police Authorities inspect these premises from time to time to ensure that basic security measures are in place? Just imagine how many more robberies, kidnappings, murders and mayhem the public will be subjected to due to this gross negligence of this so-called security company.
Does the Ministry of
Does the Ministry of National Security really check out how many of these private security firms operate?
You see them driving around in heavily tinted vehicles, well dressed, armed to the teeth, but are these private officers trained or just taken off the streets and given a job?
Many of them cannot even speak English, but they blend in pretty nicely.
This robbery smells of an inside job. Come on Acting Cop and your team of crackshot sleuths, solve this and recover these firearms before more innocent people get murdered.
http://dsaltsman.blogspot.com/
Time to take away all
Time to take away all weapons from T&T police force and the substandard security firms and arm them with slingshots and water balloons as a first line of defence.
Many of these private
Many of these private security companies feel as if they are the police. I see them driving recklessly on the Priority Bus Route with their heavily tinted vehicles, on the shoulders of the roadways and in a very careless manner too.
Another thing, many big businessmen opening up their own security companies just to qualify for firearms and precepts. Investigate a big fireworks company in the east and see how many of their firearms are actually used by security officers, if any at all.
ARE GUNS BEING ACCUMULATED?
ARE GUNS BEING ACCUMULATED? -
Are guns being accumulated and for what reason?
Clearly a few things are
Clearly a few things are wrong here:
1. One officer by herself in a security firm having responsibility for arms and ammunition is a recipe for disaster.
2. How did the 'police officer' and the 'security officer' know that only one person was on duty at that time?
3. The report states that the guns were in a steel container but did not say if the container was locked or not. If locked, was she beaten and forced to open it?
4. The report also states that the female officer on duty knew the 'security officer' who came to drop off the parcel. Well, what is his name, where does he live? Someone else must know him too.
5. If she wasn't aware that someone (police officer or not) was to drop off a parcel at a particular time, wasn't she to call her superiors to clear it first?
6. Why hasn't the pictures of the persons caught on camera been made public as is done in the USA? If this was done in the US, the said footage would have been shown on FOX News, CNN, MSNBN and CBS quite a number of times so as to inform and alert the public. I don't know why we are so backward and slow in this country, tied to laws dating back to 1929. If we are serious about solving crime then we should change all the archaic laws and advance with the times, not only through the use of technology to capture criminal activities but also by posting pictures on television, electronic sign boards and wherever else possible.
This whole thing stink with
This whole thing stink with "INSIDE JOB" written all over it.
security my foot
I agree strongly with the
I agree strongly with the comments articulated thus far but more so with those expressed by 'Bottom Line".
However, the following questions bother me:
Why on recognising that the former employee was dressed in the company's uniform, did not arouse some suspicion for her?
Is it the norm for employees of the company to be accompanied by the police to drop off packages at the compound?
Why didn't she confirm with her employers first that a package was being dropped off?
To me just on looking at that building it seems that the doors are electronically operated thus inhibiting easy entry. So the security officer was under no immediate threat and had ample time to verify the situation with her supervisors. (I could be wrong on this assumption).
Crime shows on tv are not just for entertainment value, but there are messages and lessons to be learnt. Bandits watch these shows to fine tune their craft that is why crime today is getting sophisticated and brazen.
This security officer looks unfazed to me.
Something really smells fishy.