A toddler has been rescued and reunited with her parents after allegedly being abducted and taken on a high-speed drive in a stolen police vehicle.
An official statement from the Police Service confirms that a 24-year-old woman, who has since been arrested following a hot pursuit, currently is assisting police with their investigation.
Guardian Media understands that at 6:43 pm on January 23, the parents of a one-year-old girl reported they were at their Arima home when a young woman known to them paid them a visit. The parents told police they stepped away for a moment to attend to a family matter. Upon returning to the location of their guest and child, they discovered the baby missing.
According to the TTPS release, the parents enquired from persons around the village and were told that the child allegedly was taken by the visiting woman and was seen walking in a northerly direction along Tumpuna Road.
Around 10:45 pm that same day, police officers on mobile patrol observed a speeding police vehicle driving east along the Eastern Main Road, Tunapuna. Further checks revealed that an unauthorised woman was driving the marked police vehicle.
The TTPS says the mobile patrol officers gave chase and intercepted the vehicle in the vicinity of the Eddie Hart Savannah, Eastern Main Road, Tacarigua.
It was later revealed that the marked police vehicle was unlawfully obtained from the Cunupia Police Station District. When police officers checked the vehicle, they found the toddler inside.
The TTPS says the child was removed, reunited with her parents and escorted to the hospital to seek medical attention.
The woman was arrested and taken to the Cunupia Police Station for processing pending charges.
Investigations are ongoing.