Lopinot villagers nab bandit

According to reports the NLCB Lotto operator left her business place near Lopinot Junction around 2 pm with a bag containing $32,000 which represented sales from last week. The woman had intended to deposit the cash at a nearby bank when she was accosted by the suspect, who grabbed the bag and ran away. The frantic woman started shouting “thief!” “thief” which resulted in alert villagers responding with haste to the woman’s cry for help. A group of young villagers gave chase and detained the man who was slowed by the weight of the bag.

When cornered, the man began pleading to be freed saying he was sorry for his actions but the angry villagers said they took pride in keeping their community crime free and wanted to send a message to others that such actions would not be tolerated.

The man was given a sound beating before officers of the Arouca Police Station led by Sgt Almond were contacted.

The bag of cash was returned to the relieved operator who then had some choice words for the suspect.

The woman thanked the villagers for their quick response and said that she was heartened that people still looked out for each other. The suspect was taken to the Arouca police station and was expected to be placed on identification parades for other robberies.

Newsday understands that the Lotto operator promised to give a small reward to the villagers who responded to her distress call yesterday.