One nabbed after escape blocked
Car thieves were yesterday found stripping a vehicle of its stereo and other valuables in the Botanic Gardens and one was captured after a gate was closed and his getaway blocked.
It was the quick thinking of the operator of Top Notch Taxi Service that saw the recovery of Dyndial Jodhan’s white 192 Carina just under an hour after it was stolen from in front of the George-town Public Hospital in New Market Street.
The owner of the taxi service, after being told of the theft, sent a number of his cars out around Georgetown in the hope that one of his drivers would spot the vehicle, while reports were being made to the police. His hunch paid off; the car was spotted just before 1 pm, less than an hour after it was stolen.
It was Vishal Mohan, the owner himself, who came upon the thieves stripping the vehicle near the Seven Ponds in the gardens. By this time the car’s number plate, HB 4062, had already been replaced with a brand new number plate, PJJ 2821.
One of the thieves was apprehended as he attempted to drive out of the gardens while two others escaped on foot through the back gate.
When Stabroek News arrived on the scene several police officers were present and the suspected carjacker was in a police vehicle while some officers were inspecting another white 192 Carina with number plate, PJJ 1849, which the man was driving when he was arrested. Many bystanders were overheard commenting on the swiftness with which the men acted after stealing the car in broad daylight.
Mohan told Stabroek News that he decided to check the gardens in an effort to locate the stolen vehicle and he hit the jackpot when he spotted three men removing items from the vehicles. He said even though the number plate had been removed, along with the taxi service logo, he recognised the vehicle.
“I recognise the car and I know they recognise that I was looking for the car, but I did nothing I just turn around and drive back to the front,” the man said.
Mohan said he figured that the men would attempt to leave the compound through the front gate so it was to this area he returned and told some photographers and other people who were around the area what was happening.
In the meantime, two of the car thieves escaped through the back gate on foot and even though Mohan and some of his drivers who had arrived by then saw them, they were unable to stop them.
However, luck was not on the side of the third car thief who decided to drive out of the garden in the other vehicle. Mohan was advised to alert the trainee presidential guards, who are located in the gardens, and they quickly called the police, resulting in many of them arriving promptly on the scene on motorcycles, in pick-ups and cars.
The guard on duty at the gardens also closed the gate and as the man was driving out Mohan blocked his path with his vehicle. At this point, the man reportedly threw a radio set, DVD player and remote, which had been stripped from the stolen car, into the grass. The police subsequently recovered these items along with a speaker and amplifier that were in the car.
“As soon as the police ask for he identification he start foh shake,” one observer said.
A relieved Jodhan told this newspaper that he parked his car in front of the hospital around midday and had gone into a restaurant opposite to get something to eat.
“I had me keys in my pocket and when I come out back I say to me self, ‘wait is suh far I park’ but when I walk a little more me ent see no car and I immediately call base,” the man said. He said that he also quickly sprinted to the Alberttown Police Station and reported the theft. “Them police man deh helpful because they call up other stations and tell them,” he said.
But it was his boss for whom he had all the praise as were it not for his quick thinking to alert all his drivers and begin a search, Jodhan said, he doubts he would have gotten back his vehicle.
He said he still did not understand how the men could have stolen his vehicle in less than four minutes. “They had to be really organised,” he said, that the men might have had a “skeleton key or master key”, making it easy for them to remove the car without anyone noticing.
As he spoke, the police were inspecting his vehicle, which was parked at the side of the Seven Ponds with all the doors open.
“I really glad I get back me car, I just done pay fuh the car and I studying a piece of land. If I didn’t get me car I woulda have to start over again. It is not that I rich or anything,” the man lamented.
Meanwhile, Mohan said his taxi service has suffered a number of hijackings and car thefts over the past few months and he was happy that there was a happy ending to yesterday’s incident.
Up to late last evening, the man’s car was still parked at the Brickdam Police Station while the other two car thieves were still on the run.
