Five Tobagonians have been detained in connection with the midday armed robbery of a bank in Carriacou, Grenada, on Monday.
The robbery took place at around 1 pm, when two armed, masked men entered Grenada Co-operative Bank.
When they were asked by a security officer to remove their masks, one of the men reportedly responded by placing a gun to the security officer’s head.
The men then proceeded to rob the bank of an undisclosed amount of cash.
Eyewitnesses said the men fled on foot.
One of the men had a large bag and a large pile of cash in his hand, while the other had a gun.
They ran up a street close to the esplanade and escaped in a waiting speed boat that was heading in the direction of St Vincent and Grenadines when it was intercepted and the suspects held at sea.
Kindra Maturine-Stewart, the MP for Carriacou and Petite Martinique and Minister for Legal Affairs, applauded the island’s law enforcement and security forces for their swift action in capturing the five men, which she said “reflects the improved local security capacity on the island.”
“In recent years, the government invested great resources in personnel and equipment in our ongoing efforts at improved security,” a statement from Maturine-Stewart said.
Maturine-Stewart said local security operations will be reviewed, as it was the second time in two years that there had been “a cross-border raid by regional criminal elements.”
She added: “We are thankful that none of our citizens were hurt during today’s dramatic development, though witnesses would have had some trauma since it is unusual in one of the most serene and peaceful jurisdictions in this hemisphere.”
In October 2019, there was an armed robbery at the Grenada Union of Teachers Credit Union branch in Hillsborough, Carriacou.
