Cops recover safe with $1.5M

However, a party of officers from the North Eastern Divisional Task Force, including Sgt Roger Alexander, Cpl Cornelius Samuel and Ag Cpl Sunil Bharath quickly responded. Acting on information received they were able to recover the safe, still intact. It was found hidden in some bushes near the hardware.

Three men, one of whom is a Guyanese national, were subsequently arrested and up to late last night were bing questioned by police.

According to a police report, at about 7 am the owner and operator of Aranjuez Hardware, Imran Mohammed of Aranjuez Main Road, realised there was a break-in at his business place. Upon checks he discovered that his safe was missing. Police said the thieves gained entry into the building by bursting a hole through the concrete wall at the rear of the building.

A party of officers conducted enquiries and subsequently detained three men ages 21, 19 and 17 from the Aranjuez area.

One of the suspects detained is a current employee of the hardware, and is a Guyanese national. The other two suspects are former employees of the business place.

After the three admitted to being involved in the break-in they led the officers to the safe, which was hidden in some bushes along Garden Road, Aranjuez, in the vicinity of the Aranjuez Villas, which is also near the hardware.

An investigating officer said the suspects admitted that they were unable to open the safe at the time of the break-in, and had planned to return for it and use the very tools taken from the hardware to try to open it, to retrieve the money within. The officers said they were grateful to have recovered “every last cent” and solve the case, making arrests.

The suspects are expected to appear at the Port-of-Spain Magistrates Court today.

Cpl Taylor of the Barataria CID is continuing enquiries.