Murders being driven by stolen cars – Deputy CoP, THA Chief Secretary point to alarming pattern

Deputy Commissioner of Police Junior Benjamin said police have identified a pattern in which stolen vehicles, often with false number plates and chassis numbers, are used in shootings and murders.

"In some cases, they even paint the vehicles.”

In a phone interview with Newsday on August 9, Benjamin said police were “constantly engaging with the licensing authority" to address the issue.

He said an increase in roadblocks was aimed at ensuring vehicles were legally registered and verifying the vehicle's owner in cases where another driver is operating the vehicle.

That increase in roadblocks is in keeping with the police's latest in-your-face policing initiative announced by Police Commissioner Erla Harewood-Christopher three weeks ago. The announcement had come in the wake of one of the bloodiest weekends on record this year, in which there were 18 murders over four days between July 12 and 15.

July eventually became TT's third most violent month in the country's history with 66 murders. Only November 2021 and August 2022 had more murders with 69 and 66 respectively.

On August 9, Benjamin said police were also gathering intelligence to help solve crimes in support of all police divisions.

“Intelligence efforts enable us to identify suspicious activities and track information through the ticket system.”

He said police were taking a comprehensive approach, including detailed investigations into individuals to understand their backgrounds.

Benjamin said vehicles were stolen either to commit serious crimes or to be sold for quick cash. He refrained from providing specific statistics as he did not have the data on hand, but stressed that stolen vehicles most often had their number plates and chassis altered before being sold.

He said police were focused on "disrupting and dismantling" criminal operations through various initiatives but refrained from making any comments on these initiatives.

Benjamin urged vehicle owners to return to basic security measures, such as locking their vehicles, using alarms, GPS systems and steering locks. He also advised buyers to ensure that vehicle transactions were legitimate and that ownership was properly transferred.

On August 8 and 9, there were two reported crimes involving stolen cars.

In St Augustine, three suspects in a gas station robbery in were forced to leave their gun and getaway car behind as police chased them after a shootout on August 9.

Reports say around 12 am that morning, two men entered a Unipet gas station in St Augustine and announced a hold up. The bandits then robbed the store, customers and a security guard, stealing bottles of alcohol, a cell phone and about $8,400 in cash.

Police were called and they confronted the bandits as they tried to escape causing a brief shootout. The suspects entered a silver Nissan Tiida and drove away but abandoned the car with some of the loot near the Tunapuna Market after being chased by police. Police then discovered that the car had been stolen.

On August 8, a man's car was stolen from the Caroni Licensing Office compound hours after he purchased it from a man he met on Facebook.

The man had arrived at the compound at around 10 am and locked the gold Nissan Almera before heading inside to conduct business.

He came out of the building about four hours later and discovered the car was missing.

He said he had paid the seller $21,000 for the car after meeting him at the compound of the Eric William Medical Sciences Complex in Mt Hope.

On August 8, THA Chief Secretary Farley Augustine revealed that nearly all 19 murders in Tobago this year involved stolen vehicles. Augustine said vehicles from three car rental companies were found with fraudulent chassis numbers and he emphasised the need for car rental companies to get copies of drivers' licenses during transactions.

Augustine said 20 individuals were apprehended without driver's permits, and at least four vehicles were discovered with duplicate chassis numbers or fraudulent registration during recent police operations.

He said licensing officers had the authority to detain individuals wanted for robberies and shootings. Currently, Tobago has five licensing officers, with three in law enforcement and two in administration.

The police statistics website says there were 575 reported stolen-vehicle cases for the six-month period ending in June 2024, and increase of 41 compared to the 534 reported cases during the same period in 2023.

February remains the peak month for stolen vehicles, with 115 cases reported in 2024, surpassing the previous highest number of 103 cases recorded in August 2023.