Facebook bandits to appear in court

THREE La Romaine teenagers are expected to appear before a San Fernando magistrate tomorrow for luring people through online car advertisements using fake profiles and robbing them.

The men, two 18-year-olds and the other, 19, were expected to be charged last night with several offences arising out of the robberies.

Members of the San Fernando and Mon Repos CIDs, among them Cpls Nanan and Bacchus, arrested the men on Thursday during the “Operation Strike Back” exercise.

Southern division police received about ten reports within one week from people who said they responded to Facebook advertisements for the sale of a car by a user named “Ken Browne”. By phone, Browne contacted the potential buyers giving them directions to visit, view and/or buy the cars in La Romaine. Browne is not a person, but a group of criminals who, police said, do not have any cars to sell. The “Facebook bandits” directed the unsuspecting victims to bushy dead-end streets where gunmen ambushed and robbed them. The criminals robbed victims of cash and personal items.

The victims are from different areas in the country.