The Royal Police Force of Antigua and Barbuda is urging residents to exercise caution when wearing valuable jewelry in public, following two separate daylight snatch-and-grab robberies on Friday that left victims stripped of gold jewelry worth thousands of dollars. According to Antigua.news, both incidents were reported to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) on May 29 and remain under active investigation.
The first robbery occurred at approximately 1 p.m. on Campbell Road in Ottos. A woman told police she was walking in the area when an unknown man approached her, grabbed her hand and forcibly removed two gold wristbands valued at approximately EC$4,000 before fleeing on foot. The suspect was described as light in complexion, slimly built and wearing a black hat.
Just two hours later, a second incident was reported in Sutherlands. A man informed police that he had just left his home and was walking toward his vehicle when two men snatched a 14-karat gold chain valued at approximately EC$5,000 from around his neck. The suspects also fled on foot.
Police described the first suspect in the Sutherlands robbery as approximately 5 feet 11 inches tall, brown in complexion, medium-built and sporting low-cut hair. The second suspect was described as approximately 5 feet 7 inches tall, dark in complexion, weighing roughly 170 pounds and wearing a black T-shirt and multi-coloured shorts.
In response to the incidents, police are calling on the public to remain alert and to avoid unnecessarily displaying expensive jewelry or other valuables in public spaces. Authorities are also urging jewelry store owners, pawn shop operators and businesses involved in the buying and selling of precious metals to monitor for suspicious transactions involving gold jewelry and to report any concerns immediately.
Investigations into both robberies are ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to contact the CID at 462-3913 or 462-3914, reach out to the anonymous Crime Stoppers hotline at 800-TIPS (8477), or dial 911.
