WANTED: Fraud accused ‘freed’ as police collect her for night court

UPDATED:

All borders have been closed and a nationwide manhunt launched in an effort to recapture a woman prisoner who escaped from the Golden Grove Prison in Arouca on Monday.

Vicky Boodram, a former travel agent who is awaiting trial on about 148 charges of fraud left the prison on Monday evening in the company of two policemen, one of whom remains at large while the other is now in custody. This was not the only incident in which a prisoner escaped in the past 24 hours. A man accused of murder evaded his guards while being taken to a holding cell at the Arima Magistrates Court yesterday morning.

Boodram’s disappearing act is already being called one of the most high-profile escapes since the jailbreak involving Allan “Scanny” Martin, Christopher “Monster” Selby and Hassan Atwell from the Port of Spain prison in 2015. In that escape the prisoners used guns and force. But Boodram and her accomplices apparently outsmarted prison officers, who allowed her to walk out of the front gate.

At about 4 pm on Monday, a constable went to the Women’s Prison in Golden Grove and told officers he was there to take Boodram to night court. There is no such thing as “night court.” When a head count was taken yesterday morning, it was realised that Boodram was missing. It remained unclear why the prison officers who allowed Boodram to leave with the police did not inform their seniors that she was not returned to the prison on Monday night.

The Ministry of National Security issued a staff notice just before midday yesterday telling all officials to be on the lookout for Boodram since she might seek to flee the country. They were told she is not, under any circumstance, to be allowed to depart and that anyone who sees her should contact police immediately.

Sources revealed that the officer was detained by officers of the Professional Standards Bureau. Newsday spoke with Ceron Richards, president of the Prison Officers Association who said,“This is a serious but comical situation. All we know is that the prisoner was released to police custody yesterday. We do not know what happened after that.”

Asked about the prison officers who allowed the prisoner to leave, Richards said the entire matter is being investigated internally and externally and declined to comment further until he received the results of either investigation. Acting Commissioner of Police Stephen Williams, in a statement yesterday, said an investigation has been launched into the circumstances surrounding Boodram’s release.

Boodram, a travel agent who lived in Siparia, was arrested in 2016 by the Fraud Squad and charged with offences including money-laundering, uttering forged documents and larceny by trick, allegedly committed between 2014 and 2015.

ORIGINAL STORY:

Former travel agent Vicky Boodram has escaped from the Women's Prison in Golden Grove, Arouca where she was incarcerated awaiting the outcome of several court cases where she is charged for fraud.

A release from the Ministry of National Security this morning advised that Boodram is believed to be making efforts to escape from this country and as such all points of entry including ports and the airports are being closely monitored by law enforcement to prevent her escape. Boodram is before several courts charged with defrauding people allegedly by taking money for cruises which never materialised.