'Vigil' Friday night to celebrate Imbert phone retrieval

ALMOST 300 people have signed up to attend an all night prayer vigil on Friday night thanking God that Adrian Colm Imbert, son of Finance Minister Colm Imbert, had his phone found by police after it was stolen.

The event was created on Facebook by John Gioannetti and 285 people indicated they were going while 355 people ticked the "interested" box. The vigil, which may or may not be satirical, is scheduled to be held at 7 pm outside Balisier House, Port of Spain.

One of the posters on the event page said there needed to be a doubles man nearby while another said they would be bringing snacks.

"Facebook needs a dripping with sarcasm emoji," one person wrote.

Newsday spoke briefly with Gioannetti on Facebook but did not receive a response to a request for an interview up to news time.

Last Friday around 2.30pm Adrian Colm Imbert was driving his white Hilux pickup along the Eastern Main Road, Laventille when upon reaching near Espinet Street the pickup stalled. He was approached by two men and robbed of a Samsung phone valued $5,000 and a wallet containing an undisclosed amount of cash.

Police searched several areas in Beetham and the phone was recovered on Monday, three days after it was stolen. A number of people on social media criticised the police and alleged that additional resources were used because Imbert was the Finance Minister's son.

Acting Commissioner of Police Stephen Williams, however, told Newsday in an interview this week there was no special treatment because Imbert was a minister's son and the officers simply followed the evidence. He added that the police should be praised for their excellent work rather than attacked.