At least thirteen men and one woman are in police custody at the Mackenzie Police after they were held during last night and this morning for having in their possession items believed to have been looted from the Linden Digicel Store and the Mackenzie Post Office.
It’s reported that the female looter was caught with a red Digicel chair in her possession. “When deh police hold she, he tell she keep hugging it till
she reach deh station”, said an eyewitness.
Shortly after the town was plunged into total darkness last night reports circulated that the Digicel store was looted. A check of the Republic Avenue revealed the evidence. The looters pulled open the grilled doors of the store and smashed in the glass door through which they entered.
The store was emptied leaving only two office chairs, and smashed show cases. The three flat screen televisions which were on the wall were also ripped out.
At the time one security guard was on duty. He told SN this morning that he had gone to turn on the standby generator after the power went out when the incident occured. “I deh just come back when I hear blam, when I look i see a whole set ah people by the door.” The security whose name was only given as Martin said that he didnt take any chance. “Me, I just mek a dash, I run like hell fuh banks side suh.”
The conditions surrounding the breaching of the Mackenzie Post Office were sketchy this morning. When SN visited the scene one of the doors facing Republic Avenue was broken. The glass counter top were all smashed in and there were broken elements and paper documents, most being GRA certificates.
Along Co-op Crescent police were conducting searches of several shops in the Mackenzie Arcade while two men, one a known businessman, were under police guard in the rear of a pickup. Word out says that a number of items believed to have been stolen were found in the businessman’s shop.
The electricity was back on within an hour at Mackenzie by which time the crimes were committed.
The police this afternoon issued the following statement:
“At about 2335h. last night Friday July 20, 2012, police ranks responded promptly to a report of a number of persons seen acting suspiciously at Republic Avenue, Mackenzie.
“The Digicel Outlet and the Post Office at Republic Avenue were found to have been broken into and quick work by the police led to the arrest of eleven men and a woman and the recovery of a number of articles that are suspected to have been stolen from the two offices.
“The articles include three desk top computers, one lap top computer, one water dispenser, one wireless phone, one money counting machine, three flat screen television sets, one ipod, one digital scale, one water dispenser, one micro wave, cell phones, and cell phone chargers and batteries.
“The twelve persons are in police custody as the investigations continue.”
