Two suspects remained at large last night after police killed four of their alleged accomplices following a brazen, early-morning home invasion in Central Trinidad yesterday.
Two others are in police custody.
The Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) stated via a media release that the incident began unfolding around 3.30 a.m. when a 70-year-old farmer from Cunupia was jolted awake by a loud noise at his home.
Alerted residents: Police Commissioner Allister Guevarro.
Police said the elderly man was confronted by a group of masked men wearing gloves, one of whom was armed with a gun and announced a robbery. The assailants reportedly tied up the farmer before escaping with $1,120 in cash and a cellphone.
Police said swift, intelligence-led action by officers, supported by the Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force, led to the suspects being intercepted near a supermarket along Ramnarine Trace, off Esmeralda Road.
According to the TTPS, an exchange of gunfire ensued during the interception. Three of the suspects were fatally shot at the scene and pronounced dead at hospital, while two others were arrested.
Two suspects who managed to escape remain the subject of an active manhunt.
A fourth suspect was found dead off Ramnarine Street around 12.30 p.m. yesterday when police returned to comb three areas adjoining Esmeralda Road in search of the suspects.
The operation formed part of ongoing efforts to clamp down on violent crime and home invasions, with senior officers crediting close coordination between law enforcement agencies for the outcome.
Residents tell of horror
When the Sunday Express visited the Esmeralda Road and Sampson Trace Extension communities yesterday to speak with residents, several unmarked police cars were patrolling Esmeralda Road and adjacent communities.
One Esmeralda Road, Charles Street, couple confirmed that one of the suspects was shot inside their yard and praised the police for their swift response.
The couple, who spoke anonymously, also said they were happy the police had done their job.
The wife said: “It was a scary episode to go through; it was frightening for all the neighbours, but we worked together with the police and that solved the situation.”
She said while it was the first time the family had experienced the ordeal in their yard and street, they had heard about neighbouring communities experiencing break-ins, thefts and robberies.
“Only the night before we began measuring burglar-proofing because we were hearing about these robberies inside here,” the woman said.
In summing up what had happened, the woman said she had heard the gunshots but did not pay much attention until the neighbours called and confirmed, and “that is when we put on our cameras and realised there was a lot of police around”.
She explained that at the time, all the neighbours on the street began coordinating via telephone, and it was around that time when they looked at their cameras and saw the police near their homes.
Her husband said upon seeing what was happening on the cameras and the police approaching the yard, he had opened the electronic gate to allow the police entry.
Another Raghunanan Road resident, who asked to speak anonymously, explained that around 3.21 a.m., she was alerted by a neighbour via WhatsApp that the bandits had returned to the area and were attempting to break into another resident’s home.
Police were called and arrived within ten minutes, after which they began combing the area in search of the perpetrators.
She said officers were told the men had gone behind the homes into nearby bushes, prompting them to move along side roads leading towards Cunupia, while also stopping vehicles to check for the suspects.
The resident added that officers later left the area, but around 5.30 a.m., gunshots were heard in the distance.
She further expressed the belief that the suspects may have fled through bushes and dirt tracks connecting Raghunanan Road to adjoining streets in Cunupia.
Top cop: remain vigilant
Around 1.30 p.m. yesterday, Police Commissioner Allister Guevarro, via a voice note, advised Cunupia residents living in Ramnarine Trace, Esmeralda Road, Sampson Road, Charles Trace and surrounding communities to remain vigilant, secure their homes, and immediately report any sighting of suspicious persons by calling 999 or 555.
He said the police were actively looking for the two suspects who had escaped.
In a telephone interview yesterday morning, Snr Supt Rudolph Bhagwandeen said there were two reports of home invasions in adjacent communities, and police and soldiers had mobilised to respond. He said police had also recovered a firearm.
According to him, it was perturbing that over the past few weeks, the Central Police Division had been plagued with reports of home invasions in Chaguanas, Cunupia, Freeport and the area north of the Central Division, Las Lomas.
“Based on the trend of the home invasions and the modus of the persons committing the home invasions, we have identified the trends and have identified the increase,” Bhagwandeen said, adding, “based on that we modified and increased our strategies”.
He explained that based on reports from the past, the police learnt that the gang usually moved in groups of five, “all masked and wearing gloves, and on Wednesday night…there were two home invasions that took place within close proximity of one another”.
He said prior to yesterday’s encounter, investigators were seeking to establish whether there were two teams operating in the area, or one team made up of two gangs since they usually moved in groups of five.
Bhagwandeen opined that it seemed that yesterday morning, the entire gang had been active in the Esmeralda Road area.
Bhagwandeen was referring to a series of home invasions that occurred between Longdenville and Raghunanan Road.
In one of the latest incidents reported on Friday, a 44-year-old woman of Raghunanan Road was terrorised by three masked men.
Asked if the suspected assailants killed yesterday were known to police in the Central Division, the Snr Supt confirmed that they were.
He admitted that home invasions have been a source of discomfort and concern for Central homeowners for some time and explained that it was a frequent topic of discussion whenever police engaged Central communities at community council meetings and police town hall meetings in the district.
