BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – TWO members of a visiting football team that is competing in the current CFU Finals of the Under-23 Olympic Qualifiers in St. Kitts were in police custody yesterday (Nov. 27) for shoplifting.
This information was confirmed by the Police Press and Public Relations, Officer Sergeant Stephen Hector, who told this publication that the two men were held shortly after the incident occurred but were not charged as investigations were ongoing.
A report was made yesterday by the manager of Lucky Cosmetics, situated at Amory building at the Circus in Basseterre, that members of a certain visiting football team went shopping at the store and two of them had stolen two eight-piece EasyCut haircutting machines valued at EC$300.
SKNVibes was however informed shortly before press time that at approximately 10:35 this morning, the manager of the team visited the store and paid for the stolen items.
“The manager of the football team came to us this morning in the company of another man and paid for the machines. He promised us that on return to their country, the two men would be disciplined and may even be banned from representing the country,” a female supervisor said.
The supervisor said that she was glad restitution was made and hoped that the disciplinary action taken would be a lesson to the perpetrators, noting that the men are ambassadors of their country and the incident had cast a very bad image on their homeland.
According to the manager, at approximately 12:30 p.m., some 15-18 members of the football team had entered the store and were purchasing a variety of items.
“Three of them were examining the machines that were displayed on a shelf in the northern section of the store near to the cash register. Assuming that they were having some difficulty, a female employee approached them to enquire if they had a problem and was told by one of the men that he would like to purchase some hair cream.
The manager noted that it was a ploy to get the employee away from the men so that the two of them could have carried out their shoplifting plan.
He said that the employee led the third man to the area where the hair creams were and the other two seized the opportunity to steal the two machines.
“We were unaware of their intention, but after they left we found an empty box on a shelf in the eastern section of the store. So, we decided to review the recording of the security camera and we observed all that transpired,” the manager said.
He also said that they immediately reported the matter to the Basseterre Police Station, from where officers were sent and they too examined the recording.
This is not the first time that individuals had shoplifted from Lucky Cosmetics.
On August 9, 2011, Newtown resident Trevor Roberts of Pitcairn Street was remanded to Her Majesty’s Prison for allegedly stealing two packets of Jerry Curl weaves (valued at EC$210) from the establishment.
Two weeks prior, a man, dressed in baggy pants and an over-sized shirt, entered the store and removed a large quantity of items from a display shelf.
He hid them in his clothing and managed to leave the premises before the manager and the employees discovered the items missing.
Although a review of the security camera revealed his identity, he is yet to be arrested.
And on August 17, Verian Baptiste of Thibou Avenue, McKnight had entered Lucky Cosmetics, picked up five sticks of Secret roll-on valued at $74.75, two bottles of Listerine valued at $15.90, three tubes Colgate Toothpaste valued at $36.85, and one Jumbo Braid valued at $2.95, all of which she placed in a shoulder bag.
However, a female employee of the store was observing Baptiste’s every move and accosted her when she was about to put the Jumbo Braid in her bag.
The female employee told this media house that when she approached Baptiste and queried about the braid, the 45-year-old woman threw it on the floor and headed out of the store.
She was subsequently arrested and taken to the Basseterre Police Station.
