Thieves in T&T Thread.

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$16,000 fine for San Fernando perfume thief
BY AZARD ALI (NEWSDAY).

A MAN who stole $36,740 worth of perfume was fined on Tuesday and also ordered to pay for some which was not recovered.

Adrian Ramlochan, 22, of Pleasantville, appeared in the San Fernando magistrates' court before senior magistrate Jo-Anne Connor, along with a teenager, charged with larceny of the items from C-Change Traders, Gulf City Mall, La Romaine.

The magistrate ordered the teen to appear in the Children's Court, Fyzabad, next Tuesday.

Ramlochan, who had been in custody since his arrest in October last year, pleaded guilty.

Police prosecutor Cleyon Seedan told Connor that th estore owner, Lynette Seedhan, opened the store on October 7, 2019, and discovered the perfume missing.

On his arrest, Seedan said, Ramlochan told police , "Boss, I take the thing to sell to buy things for meh child 'cause I have no work."

The magistrate heard that 20 bottles of men's and women's perfumes were recovered.

Attorney Sharmela Rampaul pleaded on Ramlochan's behalf that he had been in custody since October awaiting trial, and would obviously have contemplated his bad choice in capitalising on the opportunity to steal the perfume.

"Not that he's someone who steals, but he saw an opportunity," the attorney said.

Connor fined Ramlochan $4,000 and ordered him to pay $16,740 compensation to C-Change Traders, which represented the cost of the remaining bottles of perfume.

If he does not pay the fine, Ramlochan could serve four months, and in default of the compensation, six weeks' simple imprisonment.

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Caribbean Jewellers employee detained for $2.5m heist
BY COREY CONNELLY (NEWSDAY)

Three people, including a Caribbean Jewellers employee, are said to have been detained in connection with the investigation into a daring $2.5 million heist on Monday, at the jewellery store in Lowlands Mall, Tobago.

This, after gunmen dressed in Muslim wear entered the jewellery store around 12.39pm, held up the workers and robbed them of jewellery. The robbery took place without much alarm as employees of nearby stores were unaware of what transpired until after.

The bandits reportedly sped off in a gold Almera car, in which two form two female students from a secondary school were occupants.

The students, from Bagatelle and Golden Lane, are being treated at hospital for gunshot wounds after police had a shootout with the bandits. The bandits eventually crashed into a utility pole along Union Road.

The student from Bagatelle, who was shot in the head, was the only person found in the vehicle. She was taken to the Scarborough General Hospital and then transferred to the Eric Williams Medical Science Complex, Mt Hope, in Trinidad. She is said to be in a serious but stable condition.

The other student is still being treated for a gunshot wound to her hand after she went to the hospital afterwards.

On Monday, two men from Golden Lane and Pump Mill were held in connection with the robbery.

The driver of the getaway car is said to have escaped and is still at large. He is also believed to be injured. Investigations are continuing.