MASSIVE LOOT IN CHOISEUL . . .

. . . leaves three Choiseul Fishermen in misery

The last time that Choiseul/Saltibus was hit by a crime wave was in the late 80s to the early 90s when an organized gang of “Ali Baba” criminals terrorized the constituency on an almost “house-to-house”, “night by night” basis.

In a normally peaceful, peace-loving and proud village, it was an invasion of nightly terrorism.

The criminals used a technique where they skillfully used a screw driver to dismantle a couple of louvre blades. They would then either open a door from the inside by pushing their hand or simply remove enough louvre blades to gain entry in the building.

Several homes and business places were robbed in that manner in the dead of the night.

Thank God for the young Sergeant Desir who was sent on a special assignment to help solve the problem; and indeed in less than two a weeks he did.

At a debriefing, we were told that the criminals disposed of their loot which comprised mostly of electronic items in St. Vincent,  exchanging it for drugs which were brought into St. Lucia.

Even our beaches were no longer safe for recreational fishers who carried out nightly coastline fishing there.

The closest we have come to this “magnitude” of crime and “village terrorism” was about 8 months ago when the criminals, being driven out of the city, started exploring unsuspecting communities in the south. But thanks to Sergeant Charlery, their attempts were nipped from the bud.

That atmosphere of terror and fear was revisited on Thursday morning (July 21) when three of our fishermen were terror-struck with open jaws when their outboard motors went missing.

The three victims are alleged to be “Hotter”, Darius and “Blanc”. The value of the loot is estimated to be over $40,000.

It represents a tremendous blow to the fishermen; and we have to link the loot to the negligence of the authorities in de-silting the pond and thereby denying access to the fishermen.

The pond provides safety and security not only from marine and weather threats but equally from predatory terrorists and criminals.

Not too long ago, the Japanese donated funds for the purchase of an excavator and dump truck to help in the periodic de-silting of the pond. The donation was made to the district rep who said that he deposited those funds with the Village Council.

But the fishermen have legitimately asked “why should it be the Village Council and not the management of Fisheries Co-op?” They believe that the Co-op has enough capacity and resources to undertake the de-silting of pond on their own.

Whatever it is, three fishermen have been left in misery. And who knows? It might well be the beginning of the unfolding of the drama.