T&T Guardian: Two brothers embarked on a daring high-speed chase yesterday to catch the men, who robbed them of $20,000 in cash after they left a bank in Valpark.
The hot pursuit of the bandits by the brothers was caught on camera and uploaded to social media, where it went viral in minutes.
The call made by the older brother to E-999 was also recorded.
The daring chase by the brothers helped the police arrest one of the suspects, after the younger brother got out of his car and attempted to confront the three men who were forced to a stop after their getaway vehicle got a flat tyre.
Guardian Media spoke with the younger of the two brothers yesterday, some hours after the ordeal.
Withholding his name and that of his sibling for safety reasons, the 26-year-old explained that he and his 30-year-old brother were at a home goods store in San Juan, when their vehicle was broken into and 20,000 dollars stolen. Before they went to the store, the siblings had just left a bank in Valpark, where the man suspected they were followed by the bandits.
He said he and his older brother spotted the thieves and the red Slyphy vehicle they were in and decided to pursue them.
The younger of the siblings said he and his brother decided to act on the spur of the moment, saying they were tired of being victims of crime.
“This is the second time it happened to me when people followed me from the bank. The first time was in 2018 when they were changing over the notes to the new $100 bill. I had $30,000 on me and lost it and this time around it was my brother’s money to purchase goods. Now that I have calmed down and thinking, it occurred to me that we may have done something very risky and endangering to our lives but we both were thinking differently at the time,” the younger brother said.
But he was full of praise for the police officers including the Woman Police officer from Command Centre who was on the phone with them and relaying the information to Barataria Police Station.
“The police in Brarataria responded in two minutes and were able to intercept the driver, however, the other two men escaped by running through an empty lot of land onto another road.”
An investigating officer confirmed that one of the suspects was held and is in police custody assisting them in their investigations.
The suspect told the police that he is from Mayaro.
Police officers also detected that a false registration number plate was placed over the getaway car’s original number plates.
The car is impounded at the Barataria Police Station.
Following yesterday’s trauma, the younger brother pleaded with citizens to be extra careful and vigilant when going to banks or conducting their daily business.
“The police ought to be credited for the response they gave in our case but it seems as though thieves are lurking around banks and following their targets and robbing them. People must try to use online banking as much as possible and if withdrawing monies try not to walk with any bags that might alert the thieves. Move discreetly and in case of anything call the police.”
Officers are searching for the other suspects.
