Scorpio
06-15-2008, 10:48 AM
Well, I don't know what's next in TNT.... :shock:
http://www.trinidadexpress.com/index.pl ... =161339461 (http://www.trinidadexpress.com/index.pl/article_news?id=161339461)
WHERE there's a will, there's a way-and where there's a way, there's a crime.
While the Government struggles to appoint a new Police Commissioner and with Prime Minister, Patrick Manning ignoring calls to fire National Security Minister Martin Joseph and take on the portfolio himself, citizens are living with the reality of a constant increase in and evolution of crime.
In Central Trinidad, still considered the "mecca" of kidnapping and car-theft, savvy, organised criminals continue to milk the business community, while staying "off the radar".
Residents tell of crimes designed to keep out the authorities and the wider public, making it well nigh impossible for the police in central areas of the country, with their limited resources, to manage.
Persons directly in the criminals' line-of-fire express little hope that their existence-one largely made of fear and paranoia-will ever return to normal as they decribe the ordeals they suffer.
It's almost like lending someone your car-except you have to pay to get it back.
"Car-napping" is the newest crime mushrooming all over Central Trinidad in the past year. Such is its popularity that it has almost done away with the formerly popular practice of swiping and stripping cars for parts.
Carjackings and car stealing remain problems in the Central area but a new dimension has been to these criminal operations-the car owners are given the opportunity to recover the vehicle-at a cost. And at least three organisations operating under the guise of businesses are known as the "go-to" groups to recover a stolen vehicle, as these "business-owners" purport to have "pull" with the criminals.
One victim, whose car was stolen about two months ago and who was able to get it back the next day, told the Sunday Express while no one could say for sure, it was widely believed that the "organisations"were also the car thieves.
"By now, everyone knows who to go to to get the message to the thieves that you are willing to pay to get the car back. The cost is generally $10,000," said the owner of the car that was stolen and then easily "recovered".
He said a "middle-man" takes the money and contacts the car owner whose car has been stolen subsequently with information on place and time for the car to be picked up.
"It is always within two days or so. They always warn you not to try anything and tell you between which hours to collect the car. When you go, the car will just be there, parked up," he said.
"The cars that have been returned this way are usually intact, with all the music and accessories still there. This is a way to make fast money that really caught on last year and is still going on. The police and insurance don't have to get involved, the time-frame to get back your wheels is fast and the criminals make something with very little effort," he added.
Apart from "car-napping" as this operation is called, Central residents also tell of another operation, "speed-kidnapping". Though it has not replaced its very sinister and sometimes fatal sibling, this operation is literally proving true the saying that crime pays.
A fairly recent development, starting in earnest around the middle of last year and continuing steadily into 2008, "speed-kidnapping" is the name given to the practice of extorting money, anonymously and over the telephone, in exchange for not kidnapping someone.
The sum demanded by the criminals can range anywhere from $20,000 to $100,000.
The Sunday Express discovered that dozens of people have either paid up or have been threatened, some of whom, along with their families, have since fled the country for fear of falling victim to the 'real thing'. Female family members and children have been shipped overseas while still others have actually sought therapy to get over a fear of leaving their houses.
"These guys have worked out a real terror scene," said a relative of one recent victim.
"They literally stake out the family and follow certain members around. They usually go for a wife or daughter. They call and tell you that they are in proximity of the person and will relate to you the activities of the person.
"So they will be like, 'Right now I am watching your daughter buying bread in the grocery'. Do you know how frightening that is? They will tell you that they will leave you and your family alone, for a price. I know another family that has been hit twice, with the second criminal claiming to be from a different set. They told the family that they didn't care if they now pay out somebody else, they want their share."
Extortion on the whole is an old story in Central.
It became a serious problem about five years ago and has not subsided since - the victims have simply given in and accepted the new order of things. New business owners know of it and are also usually resigned to the 'added security costs'.
A medium to large business can pay up to $5,000 per month in so-called 'coward tax' for the privilege of not being constantly robbed or have their buildings burned down.
While this newspaper was unable to get an official comment from the Police Service, one Central officer admitted that the police were being 'strapped' by their resources in being told about these instances of criminal activity.
"We are trying with what we have," he said.
http://www.trinidadexpress.com/index.pl ... =161339461 (http://www.trinidadexpress.com/index.pl/article_news?id=161339461)
WHERE there's a will, there's a way-and where there's a way, there's a crime.
While the Government struggles to appoint a new Police Commissioner and with Prime Minister, Patrick Manning ignoring calls to fire National Security Minister Martin Joseph and take on the portfolio himself, citizens are living with the reality of a constant increase in and evolution of crime.
In Central Trinidad, still considered the "mecca" of kidnapping and car-theft, savvy, organised criminals continue to milk the business community, while staying "off the radar".
Residents tell of crimes designed to keep out the authorities and the wider public, making it well nigh impossible for the police in central areas of the country, with their limited resources, to manage.
Persons directly in the criminals' line-of-fire express little hope that their existence-one largely made of fear and paranoia-will ever return to normal as they decribe the ordeals they suffer.
It's almost like lending someone your car-except you have to pay to get it back.
"Car-napping" is the newest crime mushrooming all over Central Trinidad in the past year. Such is its popularity that it has almost done away with the formerly popular practice of swiping and stripping cars for parts.
Carjackings and car stealing remain problems in the Central area but a new dimension has been to these criminal operations-the car owners are given the opportunity to recover the vehicle-at a cost. And at least three organisations operating under the guise of businesses are known as the "go-to" groups to recover a stolen vehicle, as these "business-owners" purport to have "pull" with the criminals.
One victim, whose car was stolen about two months ago and who was able to get it back the next day, told the Sunday Express while no one could say for sure, it was widely believed that the "organisations"were also the car thieves.
"By now, everyone knows who to go to to get the message to the thieves that you are willing to pay to get the car back. The cost is generally $10,000," said the owner of the car that was stolen and then easily "recovered".
He said a "middle-man" takes the money and contacts the car owner whose car has been stolen subsequently with information on place and time for the car to be picked up.
"It is always within two days or so. They always warn you not to try anything and tell you between which hours to collect the car. When you go, the car will just be there, parked up," he said.
"The cars that have been returned this way are usually intact, with all the music and accessories still there. This is a way to make fast money that really caught on last year and is still going on. The police and insurance don't have to get involved, the time-frame to get back your wheels is fast and the criminals make something with very little effort," he added.
Apart from "car-napping" as this operation is called, Central residents also tell of another operation, "speed-kidnapping". Though it has not replaced its very sinister and sometimes fatal sibling, this operation is literally proving true the saying that crime pays.
A fairly recent development, starting in earnest around the middle of last year and continuing steadily into 2008, "speed-kidnapping" is the name given to the practice of extorting money, anonymously and over the telephone, in exchange for not kidnapping someone.
The sum demanded by the criminals can range anywhere from $20,000 to $100,000.
The Sunday Express discovered that dozens of people have either paid up or have been threatened, some of whom, along with their families, have since fled the country for fear of falling victim to the 'real thing'. Female family members and children have been shipped overseas while still others have actually sought therapy to get over a fear of leaving their houses.
"These guys have worked out a real terror scene," said a relative of one recent victim.
"They literally stake out the family and follow certain members around. They usually go for a wife or daughter. They call and tell you that they are in proximity of the person and will relate to you the activities of the person.
"So they will be like, 'Right now I am watching your daughter buying bread in the grocery'. Do you know how frightening that is? They will tell you that they will leave you and your family alone, for a price. I know another family that has been hit twice, with the second criminal claiming to be from a different set. They told the family that they didn't care if they now pay out somebody else, they want their share."
Extortion on the whole is an old story in Central.
It became a serious problem about five years ago and has not subsided since - the victims have simply given in and accepted the new order of things. New business owners know of it and are also usually resigned to the 'added security costs'.
A medium to large business can pay up to $5,000 per month in so-called 'coward tax' for the privilege of not being constantly robbed or have their buildings burned down.
While this newspaper was unable to get an official comment from the Police Service, one Central officer admitted that the police were being 'strapped' by their resources in being told about these instances of criminal activity.
"We are trying with what we have," he said.