Police have arrested and formally charged two men in connection with the August 28, 2024, robbery at the Choc Branch of 1st National Bank.
A police release identified the two accused as Corneil Louis of Darling Road and Joel Phulgence of Barre St. Joseph.
Investigators charged Louis with three counts of aiding and abetting kidnapping and one count of conspiracy to commit Robbery.
Phulgence was charged with robbery, three counts of aiding and abetting kidnapping, and one count of conspiracy to commit robbery.
Police laid the charges on Tuesday arising from the incident last month in which armed bandits robbed 1st National Bank at Choc, Castries, after accosting employees who had left the institution and forcing them back to its location.
According to reports, the hostage-taking drama unfolded at about 5:00 pm when the armed assailants accosted bank employees on Calvary Road, Castries.
The reports indicated that three bank employees were in a vehicle that slowed down due to another car ahead of them from which smoke was emanating.
At that point, the armed assailants struck, forcing their way into the vehicle with the employees and ordering them to drive back to the bank.
Once back at the lending institution, the armed individuals used the employees to access cash at the bank’s ATM and made off with an undisclosed sum.
Heavily armed SSU officers and other police units from Castries responded after learning of the incident, but the bandits had already escaped.
However, the police disclosed that they pursued several lines of inquiry, including executing search warrants, which resulted in the arrest of the two male suspects.
The Royal Saint Lucia Police Force (RSLPF) declared that it remains committed in pursuing individuals intent on engaging in criminal activity.
“All resources will be expended to ensure that perpetrators of crime are brought to justice and that citizen security is restored,” the police release regarding the charges in the 1st National Bank robbery noted.
The release also urged anyone with information regarding criminal activity to contact the nearest police station, the Crime Hotline 555, or the Crime Hotline App on Google Play Store.
Post their darn mug shots….what’s the point of withholding it from the World. You have to embarrass them through social media/ online.
I didn’t see any firearms charges what were they armed with cutlass
Was any of them working at the bank or have any relationship with any one at the bank? Any pictures available?
Is only when people escape bordelais ya’ll letting us see their pictures because ya’ll want our help to catch them. What about helping us out so we can have an idea who committing crimes in our neighborhood. Release their mugshots!!!!
All I can say to this is ????????? – that entire story ???????? –
here the news is always a joke,. they keep hiding the suspects identity, no photo, but waiting for them to escape and then they blasting photo and asking for public help. What is wrong with the reporters in Saint Lucia, Is it only at the press conferences all of you going and put a mic in a Minister face, Dont you all go outside the court house and do a video of the suspects coming out. Ok . keep hiding the photos but dont ask for the public help when they escape.
Disgruntled employees inside job that’s what people were saying all along yh…check it ,ex bank employee as getaway driver, again cameras everywhere from mega j,roundabout ect…
I have not seen one remark commending the Police on the work done. Some of the remarks are a lot of speculation. It doesn’t work that way. You can have a beautiful open and shut case and you violate the perpetrator’s constitutional rights, the case is in trouble.
@ Goodness Gracious…..what is worse…they getting slapped with a joke charge or case dismiss due to technicality which is highly likely to happen OR show their faces so we the people can join the dots, see their connection to other criminals who hide among us……this constitutional rights mentality is the downfall of democracy.