St. Lucia- Violent events summary 2022, 5 incidents- no arrests
CSSN Second Hand Report
DATE: 2022-12-18 03:00
LOCATION: Saint Lucia – Pitons
EVENT: Assault
HAND: 2
STOLEN ITEMS: Mobile phones (other : unknown, to be updated)
SECURED: N/A
DETAILS: PRELIMINARY REPORT : At 0300HRS a charter catamaran on a SMMA park mooring at Pitons was boarded by six(6) men armed with machetes and robbed of cellphones , plus other items tbd. It is not known if there were any injuries. A report was made to the SMMA park rangers. Further details expected when the charter returns to its base on Monday, December 19.
CSSN UPDATE : 19 December – The charter company has refused to provide any details or contact information for the victims. If you are a victim, please complete the CSSN online incident report so that others can understand the facts about what did/did not occur.
This is the 5th reported violent incident in the Soufriere/Pitons area in the last 5 months, see CSSN incidents 2894, 2897, 2876 and 2848. (below)
Patrols are reported to have been recently put in place, but were clearly not an effective deterrent in this latest case.
ID: 2943
DATE: 2022-10-16 01:00
LOCATION: Saint Lucia – Anse Canaries
EVENT: Attempted Robbery
HAND: 1
STOLEN ITEMS: None
SECURED: N/A
DETAILS: A cruising yacht with 2 persons onboard anchored for the night at Anse Canaries. No other cruising yachts were nearby. At 0100HRS they were awoken by noise and the captain went topsides and found 1 of 2 men on a kayak had boarded. The captain pushed the man into the water. The 2 men threatened the captain/crew by sharing their intention to return with a gun and kill them, and then departed.
The police were called, and the marine police arrived in less than 1 hour to take a report.
ID: 2897
DATE: 2022-10-06 00:30
LOCATION: Saint Lucia – Soufriere
EVENT: Assault
HAND: 1
STOLEN ITEMS: phone, tablet, computer and clothing
SECURED: Not Locked
DETAILS: A cruising couple on their yacht on an SMMA mooring were awoken and boarded at 0030HRS by 4 masked/hooded men with knives and machetes. The thieves stole electronics (phone, tablet, computer) and personal items (clothing). The crew was not injured. A police report was made, no forensics were taken.
CSSN NOTE: approximately one month ago a similar incident was reported at this location, see 2876 .
ID: 2894
DATE: 2022-08-26 02:15
LOCATION: Saint Lucia – Soufriere
EVENT: Assault
HAND: 1
STOLEN ITEMS: A small amount of cash
SECURED: Not Locked
DETAILS: At 0215HRS a yacht on an SMMA mooring for its 3rd night was boarded by armed thieves. One of the assailants came thru an open hatch and then entered the salon where a female crew member was awake, and she began yelling. He attempted to silence her with a hand over her mouth and attempted to stuff a rag in her mouth and then began choking her, as she continued to struggle and yelled. A second crew member (male) awoke and it became violent and louder as many blows were exchanged. A second assailant entered thru the companionway and began assaulting the crew as well. The activity woke a third male crew member who came from the V berth, with crew now outnumbering the intruders 3 to 2. At this point the intruders jumped overboard and swam toward shore.
A knife that belonged to one of the intruders was found on the salon floor. The crew was well bloodied, and the intruders left behind significant blood as well. The crew chose to treat their own injuries. A small amount of cash had been taken, and the cover on the cockpit chart plotter had been removed.
Reports were made to the police, Coast Guard and SMMA authorities. No forensics were taken.
ID: 2876
DATE: 2022-07-08 20:00
LOCATION: Saint Lucia – Anse Canaries
EVENT: Robbery
HAND: 1
STOLEN ITEMS: Cash and personal electronics – tablet, cell phone
SECURED: Not Locked
DETAILS: At about 2000HRS two men armed with hand guns boarded a catamaran that had stopped for safe harbor overnight in the north end of Canaries Bay, St. Lucia, while on passage from Martinique to St Vincent. They held the singlehanding owner/captain at gunpoint in the salon and demanded cash and electronics that were readily surrendered. A demand for the “big money” was made but there was no large stash to surrender. After about 45 minutes the 2 left with what was assumed to be a third man who had remained in their boat. There were no injuries to the captain or damage to the yacht. The yacht departed at first light, no police report was made.
ID: 2848