Shastri Boodan
Police have made no headway in finding the perpetrators that torched several luxury vehicles at HSM Motors in the wee hours of Thursday morning.
In a phone conversation with Guardian Media on Saturday, Mikhail Hosein, CEO of HSM, said there has been no word from the police on if anyone was apprehended. A photo of a man circulating on social media which stated that the individual of Orange Field Road, Carapichaima was apprehended in connection with the torching of HSM was deemed to be false. Hosein said he was informed by police that the social media claim was untrue.
Arsonists jumped the fence at HSM's Chase Village, Carapichaima operations on Thursday and torched 15 vehicles by breaking the glass of the cars and pouring an accelerant such as gasoline into the vehicles and setting them ablaze.
Hosein said the vehicles were targeted and not the buildings. HSM's showroom and service centre suffered damage because of the intense heat emanating from the cars.
The T&T Fire Service (TTFS) said electric cars contain lithium batteries which are dangerous and can explode when they are set on fire.
Hosein said an assessment into the loss is undergoing and he should have the final figures by next week. The loss is expected to run into millions of dollars. Hosein said high-end vehicles including a Tesla, a Toyota Supra and a Mercedes Benz were burnt.
He said the fire started around 3 am and the Fire Service arrived around 4 am and managed to save most of the cars and the infrastructure.