The room where the pocket bikes are stored.
(SNO) – A sudden upsurge in criminal activities in the south of the island over the past two weeks is of grave concern to residents of that part of the island.
The crime spree includes a series of offences such as robberies, stealing and housebreaking, just to name a few.
The most recent incident occurred on Tuesday night (June 19, 2018) when bandits attempted to enter a storeroom where Drivers World, a business which sells mainly vehicle parts and accessories, stores pocket bikes at the Gablewoods Mall (La Tourney, Vieux-Fort). The bandits broke its front glass door with a stone, but did not enter the building nor stole anything in it.
According to the owner of Drivers World, Francis Paul, the way the glass door was broken, made it difficult for anyone to pass through the space, which he believes may have been the reason why nothing was stolen from the business.
At the time of the incident, the mall was being guarded by two security officers.
“It’s terrible…. People are working so hard to earn a living while others try to take away their livelihood,” Paul said.
Two days prior to that incident, one of Paul’s employees had his pocket bike, which was on the balcony of his home at Augier, Vieux-Fort, stolen.
Last week, a minibus driver of Choiseul woke up to find his minibus stolen, which he later recovered, minus its stereo set.
Also in Choiseul, during the same week, a car was stolen and found scrapped of its parts in an isolated area in the community. Attempts were also made to steal other vehicles in the community.
There were also reports of a few house break-ins in Choiseul during the same week.
In Laborie, one man was lucky to be awake to witness someone trying to steal his vehicle which resulted in the would-be thief fleeing the scene when he realised its owner saw him.
Last Saturday, a goods vehicle belonging to a businessman of Vieux-Fort was robbed of an undisclosed sum of money by two masked men — one armed with a firearm. One of its occupants was also relieved of his gold chain during the robbery.
A resident of the area told this reporter that he saw the bandits scampering through the bushes after committing the crime but could not identify them.
Last week, documents which Vitus Peter, a media operator in Vieux-Fort described as “important” was stolen from his vehicle which was parked not too far from his business, located on Clarke Street, Vieux-Fort.
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