By SANCHESKA BROWN

Tribune Staff Reporter

sbrown@tribunemedia.net

OFFICERS from the Central Detective Unit are searching for the owners of five Honda vehicles that were stolen from New Providence and resold to residents in North Eleuthera.

According to reports, police, acting on intelligence, conducted an operation in North Eleuthera on

Wednesday that led to the discovery of a number of vehicles reported stolen from New Providence earlier this year.

One Honda was recovered in the Bluff and four others were recovered in Lower Bogue.

Supt Paul Rolle, officer in charge of the Central Detective Unit, said CDU officers are trying to determine if this car theft ring is connected to the discovery of 20 stolen vehicles in Exuma last year.

“Our investigations are in their early stages so we do not know everything right now. At this moment we are focused on finding who the owners of these five stolen vehicles are,” he said.

“I am working along with police in Eleuthera to establish if the vehicles were licensed and insured and how they got there. Right now no one is in custody, but our investigations are in high gear.”

All of the vehicles will be transported to New Providence, where detectives from the Central Detective Unit will continue investigations.

Last October, police confiscated more than 20 cars in Exuma. They were suspected to have been stolen from New Providence.

A Jamaican man, suspected of being the mastermind, was later arrested and charged.

At that time, officers were also looking at rental car companies and possible connections in other islands, including Grand Bahama, Abaco and Eleuthera.

All of the vehicles are Honda models and were, according to a source, licensed by the Road Traffic Department before they were resold to residents.

Shortly after this incident police issued an advisory about getting “deals” from persons purporting to be legitimate businesspersons.

In a press release the RBDF is warning members of the public to be careful answering newspaper ads and buying vehicles, to always check the veracity of the sources because you might be buying stolen goods and also to call the police if someone approaches you with a deal “too good to be true.”

Police also added that Hondas are the vehicles of choice for thieves. 

Insurance companies are also limiting the number of Honda’s they insure and Bahamian auto insurance premium costs are 15-20 per cent higher “across the board” due to a relatively high vehicle theft rate.