UPDATE: December 5, 2017 – The victim has contacted CSSN to advise that no arrests have been made in this matter, there have been no recoveries of the stolen items and that St Lucia police have failed to respond to email requests for further updates. CSSN will of course publish any future updates that are received and relayed to us.

DATE: 2017-10-25 01:30

Country Name: St. Lucia

Location Detail: Soufriere

EVENT: Assault

HAND: 1

Stolen Items: Cash and mobile phones, dinghy

SECURED: Locked

DETAILS: Guests onboard a chartered catamaran on an SMMA mooring in Soufriere, St. Lucia, were awakened at 0130 am when they were boarded by 4 men. 2 of the men were armed with guns, and 1 with a knife, all had their faces concealed.

Three of the men damaged a deck hatch to break into the locked yacht while the fourth cut the davit lines on the dinghy during this violent boarding. There were 6 members of the charter group, 2 families each with a teenage daughter. The women and children quickly locked themselves inside a cabin. There were many threats and a short struggle. One victim was hit in the face with a gun, the other hit on the head. The boarders demanded cash, cell phones, and passports. The cash and cellphones were surrendered readily and the passports and access to the locked cabin refused. After 20 terrifying minutes of further threats of violence and death the 4 men left with the dinghy.

Reports were made to the charter base and police. The police took NO forensic evidence and told the victims and the charter company that they did “not want any media involved as it might scare tourists”. The charter company has assisted the victims with communications and arranged for a local media outlet to film an interview, which has not been broadcast. The dinghy was abandoned ashore and later recovered.

The police have since asked for some details about the stolen cell phones by email, but have not informed the victims of any arrests in this matter. The victims describe this as a “violent, aggressive and prolonged attack that left their families traumatized” and point out that at no point during the charter briefing were they informed of any “no go” or problem areas. They were advised to use the cable and lock provided to secure the dinghy when ashore.

CSSN NOTE: As a matter of policy CSSN will publish updates if police confirm to the victims that there has been significant progress in this matter.

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