Cops find stolen van, electronics after shootout in swamp

Police chased two bandits through a swamp and found power tools and appliances that had been reported stolen in Sangre Grande hours earlier on Thursday afternoon.

Police said officers of the Northern Division were on patrol on Pinto Road Arima at around 5.45 pm when they were told a white Hyundai H-100 van had been stolen in Sangre Grande.

They took up position on Demerara Road near the Churchill Roosevelt Highway and saw the van driving on the westbound lane.

Police chased the van and called on the driver to pull over, using a loudspeaker, but he continued driving.

They then called for back-up as the bandits drove through Pinto Road Extension and then onto a gravel road in Santa Rosa. The bandits continued to drive through a swampy area and started to run.

Police chased them through the swamp and were shot at. They returned fire, but the bandits escaped.

Police found the stolen van which contained two flatscreen television sets, two weed wackers, a welding iron, a music box and three cellphones.

Northern Division crime scene investigators and police from the Valencia post visited the scene and are continuing enquiries.