More robbery suspects rounded up

(CNS): Police arrested another four men over the weekend in relation to the recent spike in armed robberies and gun crimes. One of the men was already on bail, having been charged on suspicion of being an accessory to a 2022 robbery. Now that he is suspected of being part of the recent crime spree after tampering with his electronic tag, his bail was revoked Monday.

“The RCIPS is focused on locating and dismantling the network of individuals involved in the recent spate of robberies,” said Detective Superintendent Peter Lansdown, head of the RCIPS Criminal Investigations Unit. “By employing targeted operations and increased patrols, we have managed to successfully apprehend four men over this weekend and four men last weekend. We believe that our efforts are having an effect on these recent crimes.”

The police carried out a number of operations across Grand Cayman from Friday to Monday and arrested three George Town men, aged 20, 22 and 26, and a 21-year-old man from Bodden Town on suspicion of robbery, attempted robbery, breach of court bail, and drug offences.

One man has been bailed, but the other three are all now in custody. One of the men remanded had breached his bail conditions four times in the last ten days; at least one of these occasions co-coincided with one of the robberies. Police suspect that he used aluminium foil to interrupt the signal of his electronic tag.

Police have also recovered the blue Jeep Liberty that was seen on the CCTV cameras during two robberies last Thursday, 6 July, and a black Suzuki used in the gas station robbery in Savannah on Friday, 30 June.

“With the recent increase in robberies, we have noticed a similar uptick in reports of vehicle number plates being stolen,” said Chief Superintendent Brad Ebanks. “There are instances where persons have attached stolen vehicle number plates to getaway vehicles in order to frustrate the efforts of the police in tracking them down once they have committed a crime.”

Members of the public are asked to immediately report any instances where their vehicle number plates have been stolen, gone missing or have been tampered with as soon as possible, especially if they have CCTV footage available showing the culprits removing the plates.

Reports can be made at your nearest police station or 911.

Anyone who knows anything about any crimes or who witnesses suspicious activity can submit tips to the RCIPS website.