CHARLES KONG SOO
Perpetrators of home invasions that have become frequent over the last few months are using increasingly violent and brutal tactics against citizens in several communities across the country. It has driven fear into many victims as people have become vulnerable in their homes.
These criminals are well-armed and use any kind of weapon from firearms to cutlasses to kill, beat, torture, assault or maim their victims before stealing cash, jewellery, electronics, household items, or any form of valuables from the victim's property before making a hasty exit.
In some cases, criminals show no mercy for women, children, or even the elderly.
The trauma of being attacked and beaten and in some instances being left for dead can haunt victims mentally for a long time. Others, meanwhile, find strength in coping with the ordeal and ensuring they are prepared if another such attack should occur.
A St Clair homeowner who had been the victim of a violent home invasion some months ago and survived the harrowing ordeal recounted his experience and that of his family at the hands of marauding bandits.
Speaking on the condition of anonymity the homeowner said, "Imagine being awakened at night to the sounds of intruders in your home, being ambushed as you are about to enter your home, tied up and beaten in your home while your home is ransacked, and seeing your family being tied up and beaten before your eyes.
A home invader caught on camera using his cellphone to communicate with his underworld coordinator/controller while committing a home invasion/robbery.
"Home invasion crimes are on the rise. Home invasion crimes differ in that the victims will suffer physical harm and severe long-term traumatic stress requiring professional psychological counselling, even so, many victims never fully recover. In addition to the victims, the direct family, relatives, and friends will also suffer long-term psychological effects of the trauma."
He said traditionally home invasions were the realm of singularly skilled burglars who could pick locks or exploit weaknesses in the physical security of a home and upon entry would steal items and then seek to escape quickly.
But now, he said, bandits are becoming more direct and brazen in their attacks.
Criminals, he said, are driving up to your premises and entering your property either by brute force or ambushing victims during the time that they are leaving their vehicle and entering their premises.
He disclosed that it was now the norm for criminals to inflict physical violence against the victims for several hours and most often during the day.
In Westmoorings on February 23, 2022, at around 8 am, three armed bandits jumped the wall of the property and attempted to enter the home.
Two of the bandits were shot dead by one of the occupants of the house with his licenced firearm.
Unfortunately during the exchange of gunfire one of the people living on the compound, businesswoman Nicole Moses was shot and killed while trying to usher her family to safety.
In an unrelated home invasion incident a few months later a police constable attached to the Forensic Department, Port-of-Spain, and his elderly mother were robbed by two bandits, one armed with a gun, on August 21, 2022.
And days before that incident a 29-year-old woman was tied up and robbed at her Princes Town home by two bandits armed with a cutlass and hammer on August 9, 2022.
A car scissor jack used to pry open the burglar-proofing of a house during a home invasion/robbery.
Correlation between home invasions and stolen cars
The St Clair homeowner who is also a businessman and a computer technician contended that there was a link between home invasions and organised stolen car rings. The homeowner said that the pattern for these crimes was always the same with bandits using stolen cars with false number plates.
He explained that the stolen car would remain parked on the roadway with the getaway driver waiting in the car while the other members of the gang entered the property to rob and beat the victims.
The man noted that vehicles of choice were typically relatively new model passenger cars such as a Hyundai, Kia, or Toyota.
He said that contrary to popular belief these criminals do not go into neighbourhoods with lower-end Nissan Tiida cars due to the stigma associated with these cars which would raise suspicion. Newer model cars, he felt, drew less attention.
The St Clair homeowner who has intimate knowledge about electronic systems in vehicles said that most modern cars cannot be easily broken into and "hotwired" since many of them utilised RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) chip keys.
Car stealing ring based in Central and North
Security analyst and 868 Tactical Limited CEO Dirk Barnes, a retired major from the T&T Defence Force(TTDF), also shared a similar view about the link between home invasions and car stealing rings.
Barnes, whose company recovers stolen cars and provides security assets for homes and businesses, said there was not one car stealing ring but several different organisations with different focuses.
He disclosed that there is one car stealing ring based in Central and the North area extending into the Bamboo down to Couva.
Barnes elaborated that that particular organisation specialised in boosting or stealing mostly smaller vehicles, and altering or cloning them.
He further explained if a vehicle was stolen or written off, the car theft gang would steal the same model vehicle and change the chassis number to that of the stolen or written off vehicle that was recorded for criminal purposes.
The same car stealing gang, he said, will also attempt to steal vehicles now leaving different bonds and ports and mostly Roll on Roll Off (RORO) vehicles are stolen in this manner.
Other smaller organisations will steal vehicles for further crimes, he said. They varied from high-end vehicles to very cheap vehicles to look inconspicuous depending on the neighbourhood they were going to "put down wuk" in.
Barnes said that a criminal organisation performing home invasions might have one or two people in the group who might be charged with the responsibility of securing stolen cars for future jobs.
He revealed that when a car is stolen it is taken to a location to "cool down" for 24 up to 36 hours, then it is taken to another location with the licence plate changed, and awaiting use on a future heist.
Sgt Christopher Swamber of the T&T Police Service (TTPS) Stolen Vehicles Squad promised to contact the Sunday Guardian but did not respond up to late yesterday. CoP McDonald Jacob did not respond to the Sunday Guardian's WhatsApp messages sent over a week ago about a possible link with home invasions and car stealing rings.
