While visitors basked on the Maracas Beach on Sunday, thieves were breaking into cars and stealing their valuables.
Locals and Carnival tourists lost more than $8,000, 15 cellular phones, gold jewelry, watches, cameras, clothes and identification cards.
A bus driver, who took 23 people to the beach, said the lock on the front door was broken and the thieves ransacked the vehicle. He lost his day’s earnings and his pants. Another man was robbed of his underwear.
Other passengers lost cell phones, cash, watches, cameras and clothing.
Three other families were robbed.
One visitor from Couva said she lost cash, a camera, cell phones and gold jewelry valued at $8,000, and her relatives were robbed of identification documents and money. Two of the vehicles that were broken into were parked on the roadside, but the owners of the burgled bus and a pick-up van said they paid the required $10 to park in the parking lot manned by uniformed security guards.
A security guard reportedly told victims: ’We cannot do anything about theft or interference of anybody’s vehicles. We are not responsible for your vehicles. You have to report it to the police.’
Maracas police said the thefts ’are a regular occurrence, especially on weekends and holidays’.
One officer, who said they were swamped with complaints of theft and break-ins on Sunday, said: ’We do not have the manpower to do regular patrols, especially during the busy hours. With Maracas being one of the biggest tourist sites, we need a bigger staff.’
One foreign visitor swore never to return to Maracas Beach, described by the Tourism Development Company as the ’jewel in the crown of Trinidad’s beaches’.
She said, ’I always wanted to visit Maracas, because I hear it’s the flagship of beaches in Trinidad, but now all I want to do is get out of this country.’
Victim Deonarine Singh said, ’Government is spending $178 million to redesign and restore the Maracas beach, but I wonder if they think of people’s safety? How can they have guards collecting money for car park and not patrolling the car parks? They care for money more than people’s lives?’
The telephones at the communications department at the Ministry of Tourism went unanswered yesterday. Attempts to contact officials at the security firm operating the car park at Maracas were met with ’we will get back to you’.
