Imbert phone 'vigil' creator: It was a joke

The creator of the Facebook event "An All Night Prayer Vigil, Thanking God that Adrian got his phone" said the post was a joke and has cancelled it.

"It was a sarcastic thing because of lack of response to crime fighting in other areas," said John Gioannetti.

Speaking to Newsday on Friday, Gioannetti said he created the event, which was to be "held" on tonight outside Balisier House, Port of Spain, as a political meme.

"The very fact so many people took it and ran with it only goes to indicate that I am not the only one who feels this way."

By yesterday afternoon more than three hundred people had signed up for the event and some said they were still going despite the cancellation and saw it as a form of protest.

"Walk with candles and your hymn book . Like for real! Be our own media and go live on Facebook. Humour is the best form of protest." one person said.

Last Friday around 2.30pm Adrian Colm Imbert was driving his pickup along the Eastern Main Road, Laventille when the vehicle 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 CoP Stephen Williams 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.