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San Fernando businesswoman Jowelle De Souza says she is happy to be alive following a home invasion during which she was tied up and robbed at gunpoint on Wednesday night.
De Souza, 53, and two employees were tied up by at least five masked men who entered the house at Meadow Drive, Palmiste, around 7.20 p.m.
De Souza is the owner of Hair by Jowelle and is a well-known animal activist.
She was appointed a temporary opposition senator in 2022, and unsuccessfully contested the San Fernando West seat as an independent candidate in the 2015 general election.
A police report stated that De Souza was inside a bedroom when a masked man walked in with a firearm. At least four other gunmen were on the compound, police said.
De Souza was at her business place at Independence Avenue, San Fernando, when the Express visited yesterday.
She said, “Last night, around 7.20 we had intruders come in. It looked like about five or six of them and all masked and they tied us up—myself, a helper and a yard man. They walked through the back of the house, we were still clearing and cleaning up the yard. I was in my bedroom. They dragged me, slapped me and put tie straps on us.”
Police said the intruders removed a safe containing documents from the bedroom, Louis Vuitton handbags, two Apple iPads and other items.
De Souza said the men all carried high-powered weapons.
San Fernando CID officers responded and retrieved closed circuit camera footage at the scene.
A search was conducted, but the suspects were not found.
De Souza said, “This is taking a toll on me, but I have come back from worse that this. I am here in my business today, after a struggle last night. I would not let a few people take me down. It is a storm that I would recover stronger from, I will bounce back and I will continue to search for these people and hope that justice is served.”
De Souza said she attempted to contact Minister of National Security
Fitzgerald Hinds, but was unsuccessful.
“I never expected this to happen. I feel numb. I have heard about it from a lot of people, but to experience it is a difficult thing. They beat you and slap you and do you a lot of different things. I am happy to be alive,” she said.
De Souza called on the authorities take control of the weapons being brought into the country, as her attackers were armed with “weapons of mass destruction”.
“The guns were bigger than the people carrying them. I tried to reach the Minister of National Security, but he didn’t get back to me. I am hoping the police will take interest in this and find the people,” she added.
Since the incident, De Souza said she had been receiving calls from her many clients in Trinidad and abroad, including Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj, SC.
Reaction to the attack on the popular businesswoman was immediate on social media, with De Souza receiving support and expressions of concern.
“People wake up, security cameras front and back and doorbells to alert you, additional lights that turn on when someone is at the door late at night. Learn how to use a gun and get security measures for your safety,” one person wrote.
Another said, “Name one time the police recovered something stolen or caught the thieves? It seems that there is always complicity, because nothing ever appears. So they want promotions and increases, ‘parasites they are’.”
Many people shared their own experiences as victims of crime, and called on the authorities to “get their act together” and work to find the criminals.
• Anyone with information on this crime and others can contact CrimeStoppers at 800-TIPS.
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