raphael.lall@guardian.co.tt
Members of the business community are now living in fear as their businesses and homes are under attack.
According to statistics from the Crime and Problem Analysis (CAPA) unit of the T&T Police Service, there have been 451 cases of home invasion for 2022 so far, affecting citizens from all parts of the country.
Business operators have not been spared. The rise in crimes against this sector comes on the backdrop of many challenges like higher costs to do business, more taxes, gas price increases and the closure of many establishments during the pandemic.
Last week, businessman Mohan Rattan was tied up at his La Romain home and robbed of thousands of dollars in cash and jewelry.
In September, bandits attempted to rob a vehicle transporting cash from the Pennywise compound in La Romaine, leaving two security guards dead and one wounded during the shootout.
In August, members of the family of businessman Rajendra Maye were tied up and robbed at their Chaguanas home, while in February, businesswoman Nicole Moses died protecting her family during a home invasion in Westmoorings.
Ag Police Commissioner McDonald Jacob, in May, noted an increase in home invasions along the East/West Corridor
“There are gangs now that are actually using that as a gang profile. There are gangs organising themselves to go and break into people’s property and they must bring back certain things. They also do things to signal or symbolise that they have done the deed,” Jacob said.
San Fernando Business Chamber President Daphne Bartlett told the Sunday Guardian that “poverty and hunger” are responsible for driving people into desperation to attack the business community.
“Crime is increasing tremendously and there are several reasons. In some instances, we business people are being targeted and in a great number of instances, the level of hunger and poverty is leading to people trying to grab. In supermarkets, they’re walking in and grabbing things and running out. It’s foodstuff they’re grabbing. People are hungry, unemployed and need money.”
She said that fear has been gripping the business community and some are even afraid of leaving their homes at night.
“The business community is very much afraid. Many businesspeople are not going out of their homes at night after work. They’re afraid to go to a restaurant to recreate and something happens. We’re now homebound.”
The former head of the National Operations Center (NOC) and Strategic Security Expert Garvin Heerah said the fact that criminals were moving from merely robbing businesses to the personal homes of business owners should come as no surprise because of the country’s social and economic problems.
According to statistics Heerah provided from CAPA, in 2021 there were 597 home invasions.
Explaining the reason for the increase in the attacks, Heerah said that people were robbing businesses and the homes of business owners because they needed money.
“The reason for this increase in crimes and the boldness of the criminal relates to the need for fast money. To feed a lifestyle of ‘bling’. The atmosphere of partying and attending concerts and all inclusives has driven the need for quick money to satisfy this appetite. The proliferation of high-powered weapons, semi-automatic military and paramilitary weapons in the hands of teenagers and young men has also been a driver. These young criminals are being recruited and seduced by seasoned criminals. Their mindset is fast money and not an honest job or career.”
Heerah noted that it was not only home invasions but crimes on the whole.
“I said in my post-budget analysis to ‘brace yourself a storm is coming’. The criminals were going to increase their activity and they were going to target business places and supermarkets.
“Why? They saw these establishments as soft targets. They had already devised plans and strategies to infiltrate and breach the security networks on the ground at these establishments. I will say it again, 95 per cent of the times when these business places are robbed or invaded, the perpetrators were within your walls, your lanes, your streets, your spaces scoping and mapping,” Heerah said.
“The criminal today has gotten very sophisticated. They are even using drones to fly over your neighbourhoods and communities and ‘peep’ behind your walls.”
‘Extortion victims afraid to go to the police’
Apart from home invasions, the illegal practice of extortion is becoming prevalent in T&T.
Heerah had told the Sunday Guardian in August that some businesses are forced to pay members of the criminal underworld as much as $10,000 weekly to protect their businesses.
“Extortion in the form of taking money or using the property of others illegally is prevalent in the country. It is a thriving criminal trade. The amount of money varies based on the type of business. Information from the ground is that sometimes payment is in the form of products and goods. It is alleged that figures to the amount of $10,000, $20,000 and even greater than that have been paid weekly and bi-monthly.”
He explained that extortion consists of obtaining property from another through the wrongful use of actual or threatened force, violence or fear.
“Such coercive extortion is synonymous with the term blackmail, which is an older term used to indicate extortion. Extortion is different from the crime of robbery. In a robbery, the property is taken against the will and without the consent of the victim, while in extortion the victim consents, although unwillingly, to surrender money or property.”
According to Heerah, another distinguishing factor is that the nature of the threat of robbery is limited to immediate physical harm to the victim while extortion, on the other hand, encompasses a greater variety of threats relating to future harm.
Despite its prevalence, Heerah said that business people who are the victims of it are afraid to go to the police with the information.
“There may be some reluctance and reservation by various elements in various sectors to admit that there is extortion of its members. One of the key reasons is that the main driver behind the criminals who use extortion is the threat to life and property. Fear is instilled and there is heavy intimidation. Businessmen will not admit to these threats because there are some confidence issues regarding the police service. It is alleged that many businessmen are aware that certain members of the police service may also be involved and therefore there will always be a resistance to report or share information,” Heerah added.
T&T Chamber wants discussions with stakeholders to find a solution
In a statement to the Sunday Guardian, the T&T Chamber of Industry and Commerce called for “urgent and critical intervention” from the Government led by the Prime Minister and the Minister of National Security to bring crime under control.
“As the economic hardships increases, there is the concern that crime and criminal activity will increase. The perpetrators of criminal activity prey on all in society, from the perceived easy targets such as women with handbags and briefcases in vehicles to armed home invasions and a variety of armed attacks on various businesses.”
The chamber also said these attacks stifle the average citizens and negatively impact their freedom to go about their daily activities in attempting to earn a living or conduct simple activities such as going to work, going to the grocery, or participating in nightly entertainment. Crime impacts all the citizens of the country.
“This, therefore, has negative repercussions on the level of business activities thereby reducing foreign and local investments in business expansions. The T&T Chamber is open to discussions with stakeholders in both the private and public sectors to find a solution to the current situation and prevent further criminal activities,” the chamber added.
Although no official complaints of extortion have come to them, President of the Chaguanas Chamber of Industry and Commerce Richie Sookhai said in August that given the rise in crime in the country, he expects that extortion would exist.
“I know those types of activities have to be taking place and it may be in hotspot areas where there are a lot of those criminals elements festering around those areas. The Edinburgh 500, the Enterprise area, and the Longdenville area tend to be the hotspot zones. Of course, I don’t want to stigmatise or point out any areas as it seemed at one time things were getting better and now it is getting worse. Crimes such as extortion are an example of the loss of confidence in the police service.”
BOX
CoP denies extortion is a major problem in T&T
Jacob in an interview with the Sunday Guardian in August denied that extortion is a major problem in T&T, but he advised that any businesses that are the victims of this should go to the T&T police.
“I would like them to identify where it is happening so that we can investigate. We advise all business persons not to adhere to any requests made by anybody. In the last meeting I had with the business chambers, no mention was made of such occurrences.
“As the Ag Commission of Police I am now hearing about this, so it has to be something recent. The police do not have that down on our radar as something happening within the community. If it is one isolated incident that happened, we don’t know. My advice is if that is happening, they should make the report to the police and the police will investigate.:
Jacob warned individuals who are raising false red flags.
“This is something we don’t want to raise its head in T&T. However if we blow it out of proportion and talk about it, it will be like the boy who cried wolf. We call things upon ourselves. So it’ll make someone in society look bad. If it is not the commissioner it might be someone else. So we push ideas into people’s heads and it becomes rampant. There is no sense in crying about things that don’t really exist. It is expected that if persons are going to others to extort money they should make the report to the police. That is a criminal act and it is nothing to play with.”