In a style reminiscent of a scene from the movie The Bank Job or one of the Ocean 11 franchises, thieves broke into the M&M Pawn Shop, Henry Street, Port-of-Spain, over the weekend and carried away an estimated $15 million to $20 million in cash and jewelry. They got into the store by cutting out slabs of concrete from the roof, using a drill to access the vault room. Using blow torches and other tools, the bandits then cut the safes and cleaned out gold and other precious metals.
The bandits were so skilled that during the robbery they also cut open a huge safe which protected the video surveillance equipment and stole that too. However, police investigating the case say the thieves did leave one thing behind, the floor plan drawings for the business place and several others in the Port-of-Spain area.
The robbery is similar to one which occurred at Jankie’s Jewelry at Plaza 2001 on the Chaguanas Main Road, Chaguanas, last year. The thieves in that case got away with some $8 million in jewelry. In this latest robbery, when the workers showed up for work around 8 am yesterday they noticed the store had been broken into and contacted the police.
After initial investigations, police said the thieves had to have had inside knowledge of the building, as they deliberately left through the entrance they made. Had the thieves attempted to leave through the entrance of the vault room, the store’s alarm would have been triggered. Outside the store yesterday, angry customers demanded money for their stolen property when they turned up and was greeted with a notice which indicated the business had been robbed and would reopen on Thursday.
The notice also indicated that they would be reimbursed according to their contracts, which reportedly pays customers only 50 per cent for their items if lost. But some customers complained that they had pawned wedding rings and other valuable and sentimental jewelry. The store manager, who was identified only as Mr Moses, was not present when the media visited yesterday.
DOMA boss responds
In a telephone interview with the T&T Guardian yesterday, head of the Downtown Owners and Merchants Association (DOMA), Gregory Aboud, said while he had no direct contact with the owners of the business, he had heard of the incident and was confused at the freedom with which burglars were able to traverse the city at nights.
“It seems that when the cat is away the rats will play. It is impossible to conduct any daytime business with this risk of night time activity,” Aboud said, adding that businesses in the capital should be monitored by a central security station as most are only scrutinised at nights.
flashback
On December 6 thieves broke into Jankie’s Jewelry in Plaza 2001 along the Chaguanas Main Road. Police said close circuit television cameras recorded three men entering through the roof of the mall. The bandits then used grinders to cut open four safes which contained gold and diamond jewelry and cleaned out the boxes. One of the showcases containing jewelry was also broken into and cleaned out.