Three charged with receiving stolen cell phones

A MAN, his wife and a third person appeared in court yesterday charged with receiving more than $100,000 in stolen cell phones and accessories belonging to the Telecommunication Services of Trinidad and Tobago (TSTT). The loot formed part of the $1.5 million worth of cell phones and accessories taken from TSTT during a robbery at the company’s premises at upper Frederick Street in Port-of-Spain on December 5. The first to appear before Magistrate David Harris in the Port-of-Spain Fifth Magistrates’ Court was Sean David, 31, of Phase Three, La Horquetta, Arima. It was alleged that between December 5 and 9, David received a cell phone and accessories valued at $2,936.14 from a house at 52 Belmont Circular Road, Belmont, knowing them to be stolen.

The magistrate indicated that the charge was laid indictably and David was not called on to plead. Attorney George Lamming appeared for the accused and sought bail. After the accused indicated that he had one previous conviction, Magistrate Harris granted him bail in the sum of $20,000 with a surety. The case was then adjourned to December 20. The next to appear were Hafeez Ali, 28, and his common-law wife Lisanne Cook, 21, of Belmont Circular Road. It was alleged that between December 5 and 9, they received a quantity of cell phones and accessories valued at more than $97,000, knowing them to be stolen.

The recovered items were identified as part of the loot taken from TSTT during the robbery. The court heard that neither Ali nor Cook have any previous convictions. They had been granted bail before attending court. The court prosecutor told the court that because the items were new, TSTT was interested in having them returned to the company. This request raised the magistrate’s eyebrows. “I don’t know how the prosecution intends to prove its case,” the magistrate added. The prosecutor told the court that the police could photograph the phones and the accessories and give the exhibits to the telephone company.

However, the magistrate said the prosecution must ensure it has the evidence when the case starts. As a result, the prosecutor withdrew the request. The case was then adjourned to March 4. The charges were laid by PC Louis Andrews of the Port-of-Spain CID. On December 5, the watchman on duty at TSTT’s Frederick Street branch, was held up by three men who entered the premises. The bandits took a large quantity of cell phones and accessories before escaping. The robbery was discovered when another watchman turned up for duty and found his colleague tied up. Acting on a tip, Police executed a search warrant at a Belmont home last Thursday and recovered a quantity of phones and accessories.