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.
