The Police Force of Sint Maarten is busy implementing its post-COVID-19 De-Escalation Plan. This action plan was laid out by the Minister of Justice, the Honorable A. Richardson during her press briefing on Wednesday, May 13th, 2020.
One of the operations flowing out of the action plan is maintaining public order during the set curfew hours and deterring car thefts and burglaries.
During the operational phase, police officers stopped and controlled several vehicles that were suspected of being stolen. During one of these controls, the officers stopped the driver of a Kia Sportage with the number plate M-325 on the W.J.A. Nisbeth Road on Thursday afternoon, May 14th, 2020.
During inspection of the vehicle the officers became aware that the VIN numbers were tampered with and certain parts of the vehicle were changed. The driver with the initials A.W. was immediately arrested and brought to the police station in Philipsburg where he is being held for questioning.
On May 13th, 2020 about 05.00 pm, the officers also stopped and arrested two (2) suspects for driving a Hyundai Grand I10 that was reported stolen.
While doing a safety search on the clothing of the passengers, a quantity of marijuana was found in his possession and it was immediately confiscated. The suspects with the initials T.H. and F.B.L. are being held at the station pending further investigation. The police will be intensifying these types of controls in the future.