Police are investigating a spate of robberies on Monday that took place in several areas around Trinidad.
In the first incident, a 69-year-old manager at Sports and Games, Tunapuna, was at her workplace around 9 am when a bandit walked into the store with a gun.
The bandit grabbed $3,478 from the cash register before running away.
An hour later, an off-duty police officer was one of two people robbed by bandits at a Diego Martin Chinese restaurant.
Police said the 41-year-old officer was sitting inside the restaurant, while another customer was outside smoking a cigarette, when three bandits walked into the establishment.
The bandits grabbed the officer and pushed him to the floor before pressing a pistol to his neck.
The bandits stole the man’s wallet, which contained his TTPS Identification Card, $250, and his cellphone.
Meanwhile, the bandits forced the second victim into the restaurant before stealing her cellphone, her handbag, and $1,260 in cash before running away.
Around midday, a 62-year-old man reported that he parked his car on Tragarete Road, Port-of-Spain, near the Queen’s Park Oval, to buy coconut water from a vendor.
The man told police he returned to his car five minutes later when he noticed that the front passenger-side door was open and his bag, which contained $23,000 cash, €140, his Rolex watch, bank cards, and documents, was stolen.
An hour later, around 1.30 pm, two bandits walked into a children’s clothing store in downtown Port-of-Spain and robbed the clerk of two gold chains, $1,000, and her cellphone.
The thieves also stole two pairs of slippers, a blue polo children’s dress from the store, and $635 from the cash register. The bandits then forced the woman into a stockroom and locked her inside before running off.
Then, around 11 pm, a 24-year-old Couva man was walking on Derrick Road, Chase Village, when he was confronted by a knife-wielding bandit who ordered him to hand over his valuables.
The man tried to run off but was subdued by the bandit, who grabbed his iPhone and ran away through nearby bushes.
Data from the TTPS Crime and Problem Analysis (CAPA) branch showed there were 1,030 reports of robberies as of July 28, compared to 1,437 robberies for the same period last year.
