BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – YESTERDAY (Jul. 23), senior officials of TDC Group of Companies and the police recovered the silver Toyota Hilux Cab Motor Pick-up (PA 497) that was stolen from the company’s Automotive Division at the C.A. Paul Southwell Park some five months ago.
SKNVibes learned that the vehicle was found in the Whytes’ Mountain area in Upper Cayon yesterday afternoon and was taken into police custody. The vehicle is currently parked opposite the Basseterre Police Station on Cayon Street with damages to the front windscreen, right rear view mirror and the step on the left side.
It was observed that the both the front and rear number plates were changed. While the front displayed P 4, the rear number plated sported P 8664.
This media house was present when the vehicle was being towed from the area where it was found and observed a number of senior employees of TDC among the police.
General Manager of TDC’s St. Kitts Automotive Division Don Boncamper was also there and, from the condition of his garments and footwear, SKNVibes concluded that he was part of the almost two-hour search party. He however refused when asked to comment on the find but promised to provide same on completion of the police’s investigations.
Up to press time, repeated efforts to get information from the police were futile.
According to a police press release in February, at about 8:00 a.m. on Monday (Feb. 22), management of TDC reported to the police that the company’s Automotive Division at the C.A. Paul Southwell Park was broken into and a number of items, including a Pick-up, were stolen.
Police said investigations revealed that the building was secured after the Automotive Division had closed for business at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday (Feb. 20), but on the staff’s return at 7:30 a.m. on Monday (Feb. 22) they discovered it was broken and one silver Toyota Hilux Cab Motor Pick-up (PA 497) that was on the compound awaiting servicing was stolen, along with an undisclosed amount of items from within the building.
“A number of searches have been conducted by members of the security forces with able assistance from the community but to date the Motor Pick-Up has still not been found. There are no suspect(s) in custody in relation to the breaking and stolen vehicle, however investigations are ongoing,” the release read.
After seven weeks had elapsed and there was no trace of the vehicle and the other stolen items, TDC offered a $5 000 reward to anyone who could have provided information leading to the arrest and prosecution of the perpetrators.
The company had provided the police and also this media house with images of the bandits, which were recorded on the security cameras strategically placed in the building.
A spokesperson for the company had told SKNVibes that “since the incident, we have beefed-up our security by employing an additional security service. We have always had surveillance cameras in and out of the building, as well as security beams around the perimeter. However, since the break-in, we have upgraded our security system and recorded images will be better identified”.
