It was not a very Mer­ry Christ­mas for a 25-year-old man who was ar­rest­ed by po­lice try­ing to break in­to a jew­ellery store in down­town Port-of-Spain ear­ly yes­ter­day morn­ing.

Po­lice said of­fi­cers of the Port-of-Spain CID were on pa­trol around 4 am when they saw a home­less man act­ing as a look­out on the cor­ner of Duke and Char­lotte Streets.

The of­fi­cers ex­it­ed their marked po­lice ve­hi­cle and walked a short dis­tance on Char­lotte Street where they found two men hid­ing un­der a veg­etable stall.

One of the ban­dits ran away, while the oth­er was ar­rest­ed.

Po­lice seized a gas tank, an acety­lene oxy­gen tank and an acety­lene cut­ting torch which the ban­dits used to try and en­ter the busi­ness place.

The man, who is from east Port-of-Spain, is ex­pect­ed to be charged to­day.