By FRANCIS JOSEPH
With Christmas around the corner, the bag and jewelry snatchers are on the prowl.
It is no secret that over the past year, there has been a proliferation of robberies in downtown Port-of-Spain, causing concern for the businesses and customers. All they want is more police patrols.
As far as the police are concerned, there are several groups of persons, men and women, operating. For them “this is a business.” Now the criminal elements have expanded their network to Woodbrook and St James.
In most instances, the snatchers have escaped with their loot. Well, one of the suspected chain snatchers was killed by police in Laventille two weeks ago.
So what has been the response? Patrols have stepped up, but people who have been questioned, told Sunshine they are not seeing the promised increase in police presence. “Maybe there are undercover and in plainclothes,” said one shopper on Charlotte Street. That street has had the most robberies.
A vendor said, “the police are more concerned about illegal roadside vending.” But the police are pleading with shoppers not to wear jewelry which would make them an easy target for the snatchers.
Just like Facebook Market Place, people are being robbed regularly and just recently, a man was killed in Laventille when he went to see a car.
As one police officer told Sunshine Today, “these people are not learning.. Be careful where you go and transact business. It is becoming dangerous and criminals are lurking and waiting to pounce.”
There is a new trend in Woodbrook. Groups of men are walking along Ariapita Avenue, waiting to pounce on limers. They are even walking into bar and trying to rob patrons while they are drinking.
Recent Incidents in and around Port of Spain
- St. James & Woodbrook (November 2026): Police investigated three separate robberies over a 36-hour period where victims were relieved of gold chains and jewelry. This included a 72-year-old woman robbed of gold chains and a bracelet outside the St. James Pharmacy, Western Main Road; a 45-year-old man robbed on Benares Street; and a woman robbed of a gold chain and pendant on Ariapita Avenue in Woodbrook.
- Maraval /Saddle Road (October 2026): Eight men were arrested following a violent daylight robbery outside a business on Saddle Road, Maraval, where a 56-year-old woman was beaten and robbed of $22,000 in cash, an iPhone 12, and bank cards shortly after withdrawing money from a bank.
- ‘Stop, doh move!’ Male suspect corners victim as female accomplice carries out Port of Spain robbery. A man was robbed of $2,000 in cash by two suspects along Brian Lara Promenade, Independence Square South, on October 31.
The incident occurred around 6:55 p.m. as the victim was walking north towards the Cipriani Statue. Police said the man was approached by a male suspect who ordered him, “Stop, doh move!”
A second suspect, a woman, then robbed him of $2,000 in cash and a card holder containing his NIS card, identification card and a debit card. Both suspects escaped west along Brian Lara Promenade
- Man held after bag snatching in Port of Spain
A 23-year-old Oropune man was arrested by police following a bag-snatching incident along Frederick Street, Port of Spain, on October 30
At around 1:12 p.m., a police constable attached to the Traffic Branch observed a man running along Frederick Street while being pursued by three people.
The officer gave chase and apprehended the man. A search uncovered $9,950 in cash and a Samsung cellphone in his possession. The victim later identified the suspect as the individual who had snatched her handbag containing money and the cellphone
- Independence Square North (September/October 2026): A Woman Police Constable attached to the Victim Support Unit was robbed of an $8,000 gold heart-shaped chain near Lucky Bakery on Charlotte Street. In a separate incident in late September, an elderly man successfully fought off an assailant who attempted to snatch gold chains from his neck near parked cars.
