Arima man robbed after meeting 'date' on Grindr

An Arima man was robbed of $14,500 in valuables after meeting a man on Grindr.

Reports say the 26-year-old began chatting with an unidentified man he "met" on the app around 1.30 am and they made plans to meet at 11 am on May 28.

The victim met the suspect at the All Stars panyard on Duke Street, Port of Spain.

He said the suspect is of African descent, slim and about five foot four inches tall and was wearing a white vest, three-quarter jeans and black slippers.

After chatting, both men walked to the suspect's apartment nearby, on Nelson Street. When they reached the second floor of the housing complex, five men approached the victim.

They took his iPhone 13 Pro, valued at $8,000, a $4,000 Apple Watch and $2,500 Apple earpods. They also stole two debit cards.

After the robbery, the suspects ran off in different directions.

On April 22, a teacher was robbed and beaten in east Port of Spain after he arranged to meet a man he met on the site and on October 3, a 25-year-old man from Queens, New York, was robbed and stripped of his clothing when he went to meet a man on Nelson Street.

Grindr is an app for lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer and intersex (LGBTQI) people interested in romantic or sexual relationships. Grindr is typically used by gay men.

On May 4, head police Special Victims Unit Supt Claire Guy-Alleyne urged members of the LGBTQI community to be careful and do their due diligence before going to meet people they have met online.

She said people could pretend to be anyone on the internet.

“Be aware that you don’t know who the other person is and you could be putting yourself at risk. You have to be careful.”