Penal cops find van stolen in home invasion

Penal police are continuing the search for the armed bandits who brutally attacked a family in their home on Tuesday and left with two vehicles, cash and other items.

On Thursday, the police found the family’s Ford Ranger van abandoned on the roadside at Snail Trace off Scotts Road in Penal. The road is an agricultural road, and the area is sparsely populated.

The van was intact, and the police recovered several stolen items, including sneakers and a curling iron.

On Tuesday morning, shortly after the home invasion, the police held two suspects. The men, one from Cleaver Road in Arima and the other from St Paul Street in East Dry River, Port of Spain, remained in custody on Friday.

Both suspects have criminal records for offences including housebreaking and robberies.

Investigators were awaiting instructions from senior police on the latest charges to be laid.

Once charged, the two will face a Siparia magistrate.

The family’s ordeal began at around 3 am on Tuesday. Relatives, including a child, were awakened by the armed bandits, one with a gun and the other with a cutlass.

They entered the house by forcing a window in the living room open and squeezing through the burglar-proofing.

They announced a robbery and demanded cash and valuables. They tied up the family, assaulted them, and ransacked their home.

The bandits stole cash, jewellery, electronic devices, sneakers, valuables, and personal items. They escaped with the family’s van and a white Nissan Sylphy.

The family managed to free themselves and called the police.

South Western Division Task Force police, including PCs Mungal, Jagessar and Weston, spotted and chased the stolen car, which crashed into a wall at Batchyia Village, Penal, near Boysie Boodoo Funeral Home and Crematorium.

There, the police arrested the two suspects.

WPC Deonath of Penal CID is continuing investigations.