Senior Investigative Reporter
shaliza.hassanali@guardian.co.tt
The escalation of home invasions, which have led to a string of beatings, terror, threats, and a brutal sexual assault in the last two months, has forced Carlsen Field residents to dip into their pockets to pay for private security to patrol their farming community.
Thousands of dollars are now being spent by the fearful villagers who believe this is the only way to save them from the wrath of armed men who operate in groups numbering four to six. The thieves, who wear ski masks, have been forcing their way into homes, demanding valuables and cash. Animals have also been stolen.
The terrifying increase in home invasions has made many residents uneasy.
Between March and May, Sheep and Goat Farmers’ Association president Shiraz Khan said there were five home invasions on Connector Road alone, the majority of which were not reported to the police out of fear.
Khan’s wife was one of the victims. However, Khan said the most chilling of the robberies was the recent sexual assault and terror the criminals unleashed on a woman in the community.
He said the gunmen entered the woman’s home and tortured her by “rubbing pepper in her eyes.” Helpless and in extreme pain, she was sexually assaulted.
“The men also locked her in a dog kennel and urinated on her,” Khan said. Items were then stolen from her house.
Khan said that before leaving, the wicked criminals placed the naked woman on the bonnet of their car and drove off at breakneck speed, causing her to tumble on the dark roadway.
Since the incident, Khan said, the woman has refused to speak to anyone.
“She didn’t even report it to the police; she is too ashamed, scared, and embarrassed about the incident.”
On Wednesday, the Sunday Guardian visited the dismal Connector Road to talk to the residents, but the majority of homes were locked.
Most of the homes are far apart, which makes the residents an ideal target for criminal elements.
‘Police not patrolling’
Khan’s wife also went through a traumatic experience on March 8, when four armed men invaded their home around 5.30 am.
“These guys were watching me because I had just left home to run an errand.”
Before prising open the back door, the men disabled Khan’s CCTV cameras.
“They dragged my sleeping wife off her bed.”
Flashing a torchlight in her eyes, the thieves demanded money.
“My wife handed over an undisclosed sum of cash, but the bandits were dissatisfied. They began ransacking the house and even threatened to chop off her fingers.”
Khan said the thieves stole jewelry, TVs, laptops, cellphones, and kitchen appliances.
“They made a clean sweep. The Freeport Police visited my home and took a report.”
Two days after the robbery, Khan said he found three “pig foot” in his yard, which he believed the criminals had used to enter his house.
Khan also stumbled upon a shoe.
“I told the Freeport police that the pigfoot may have the bandits’ fingerprints on it. Up to now, they ain’t take me on. I still have it in my possession. This is the kind of response we get from the police.”
Khan said that if he had been at home during the robbery, he would have put up a fight.
“It would have been a case of kill or be killed. Somebody would ah end up dead. I can’t tell you the last time I saw police patrolling in our area. They not doing anything for the residents here, and until somebody takes the law into their hands, then the police will wake up.”
More than two months after the brazen theft, Khan said no one had been arrested for the crime.
“I still live in fear. I don’t go out. People have become prisoners in their homes, and even in your homes, you are no longer safe. I have to constantly be watching over my shoulder. It’s an uneasy feeling.”
To compound matters, Khan, a livestock farmer, said he went to the Chaguanas Police Station to inquire about counselling for his traumatised wife, but a female officer treated him like a criminal. “The woman talked to me worse than a dog.”
Days after the disturbing experience, Khan said gun-toting thieves targeted the home of a market vendor, taking with them several valuable items. “They robbed the woman twice in two weeks.”
The bandits also ripped down the electrical lines of the vendor’s CCTV cameras.
In the first home invasion, Khan said, the vendor’s 16-year-old son slept through the burglary. “If that boy had awakened, it might have ended in murder.”
He said the thieves also invaded the home of another family who was terrorised and robbed. “They disconnected the electricity supply in their house.”
The latest home invasion, Khan said, took place on Monday at Sou Sou Lands in Carlsen Field. “That’s on the outskirts of the community.”
Armed men entered the home of an amputee, beating him and his son to a pulp.
The family was also relieved of their jewelry and cash.
Khan believes there were other home invasions in the area.
“We are being targeted. These criminals have become emboldened.”
Private security to patrol home at night
Fearing for his safety and life, Khan said he decided to pay a private security firm to patrol his home at night.
“Other residents and farmers on my streets have also invested in this security measure.” Each neighbour pays $400 monthly.
“This is an additional expense we have to shoulder because the police are not doing their job.”
Khan has also spent a tidy sum to properly secure his home.
“I living here for 38 years, and this is the first time I see criminals on a rampage. Our community is facing its darkest hour, and we are helpless. The bandits are gaining the upper hand. How much more people could take, boy?”
In the last three months, Khan said, praedial larceny has also been on the rise in the farming settlement. “So they robbing you inside your home and stealing your animal outside.”
To substantiate his claims, Khan showed a recent video of six mask-wearing thieves armed with steel rods scouring a farm to steal animals. Khan also produced photographs of a cow’s foetus that had been dumped at the side of the road after its mother had been stolen and slaughtered for its meat.
Last August, Khan said animals valued at $150,000 were stolen from his farm.
Police: Resources stretched
‘If they keep it a secret, the police will not be able to respond’
On Friday, Senior Superintendant of the Central Police Division Garvin Simon told the Sunday Guardian that if these home invasions in Carlsen Field were never reported to the police they would be unable to address the matter.
“Two things can come up with that: one, the validity of that is in question because the police would have never had the opportunity to interview the person to say if there were any injuries consistent with the report or anything like that,” Simon said. Secondly, he said, it is impossible to comment on the matter if no report was made. “We would be operating totally in the dark.”
Simon said Khan could have called or visited him at the station.
“And if there was an issue like that, he could have more than approached me; even if the persons are not making the reports, at least he could bring that to my attention to see how we could have some kind of intervention.”
Instead, Simon said, Khan chose to go to the media.
Regarding claims by Khan that there was a lack of police presence in the community, Simon said their “resources are stretched.”
The division, he said, moves its resources according to crime trends.
He said crime was dynamic as it keeps migrating.
“If you don’t make a report, we would not know that we need to make patrols, and we would transfer our resources to areas where we are having issues. So if they continue to keep it (crimes) a secret, then the police will not be able to respond to it.”
Last month the police held a town meeting in that area with the residents, the senior superintendent said.
“And if nowhere else, that is the time to come out and say something.”
Simon said the police station was one institution where civilians could report crimes.
Anonymous reports can be made at Crime Stoppers. They can also call 555.
Burglaries and robberies on the rise in Central
There has been a noticeable increase in burglaries and break-ins in the Central Division so far this year compared to the same period in 2023.
According to figures compiled by the TTPS Crime and Problem Analysis (CAPA) branch, burglaries were one of five categories of Serious Reported Crimes (SRCs) that were actively on the rise in the division.
The figures showed that between January 1 and May 13, there were 132 burglaries and break-ins reported, compared to only 109 for the same period last year.
There was a marked drop in the number of burglaries in April, with only 67 reports for that month. However, kidnappings remained a problem, with seven reports entered.
The other categories where there were noticeable increases in crimes were woundings/shootings, rapes/sexual offences, kidnapping, and miscellaneous serious crimes.
The Central Division extends from Las Lomas in the north to Claxton Bay in the south, encompassing a significant portion of infrastructure and communities.
Moore's misery
Late last year, five armed men stormed the home of Hyacinth Moore in broad daylight and tortured her family for two-and-a-half hours.
Moore lives at Xeres Road, which is about half a mile from Khan’s sprawling farm.
Still shaken by the disturbing incident, Moore, a retired Industrial Court clerk, said Carlsen Field has always been a quiet place.
“We never had these types of crimes before. I used to walk out of my street at 5 am to go to work. It was safe back then.”
Criminals, she said, are now making their lives miserable.
Moore, 60, said she can’t erase the home invasion from her mind. “It left me in shock and petrified.”
It was just before lunchtime when the gunmen emerged from a river behind their home and ambushed her sister, who was feeding animals in their pens. “A gun was placed to my sister’s head, and she was dragged inside the house.”
Moore said she had no idea that the men were inside the house, which is divided into five sections. The men hogged-tied Moore’s 62-year-old sister, brother, and teenage niece. To prevent Moore’s brother from moving, the bandits threw a three-seater chair on top of him.
It was only when one of Moore’s friends showed up at her house and she opened the door, the thieves forced their way inside. The two women were ordered to lie on the ground, and a bedsheet was placed over their faces.
“They ransacked everything in the house looking for valuables and money. This went on for two-and-a-half hours. It was absolute torture and terror for us.”
The men even ate snacks from their fridge. The family was relieved of laptops, tablets, cellphones, household appliances, television sets, jewelry and cash.
“Our losses were a lot. Them fellas even emptied a crocus bag filled with rubbish and put some ducks in it. The bandits put everything in our car and escaped.”
Two days later, Moore said the stolen vehicle was found in Laventille. This was the family’s second robbery in days. “A lot of our animals were stolen just two days before,” Moore said.
Moore recently found out that bandits also robbed a woman who was driving along their street. “They blocked the woman’s car and held her up. The sad thing about it is the woman had children in the vehicle. The area is lonely, so people are becoming easy targets.”
