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Chief Executive Officer of the Barbados Agricultural Society (BAS), James Paul, speaking to the media during a press conference yesterday.

No crop theft since arrest

Justice system lauded for serious stance against praedial larcenists

 

By Jenique Belgrave
 
It is too early to gauge whether the arrests of four individuals on praedial larceny charges will lead to a reduction of such crimes.
 
Speaking to The Barbados Advocate yesterday, Chief Executive Officer of the Barbados Agricultural Society (BAS), James Paul, stated that there have been no reports of crop or animal theft since those persons were hauled fore the law courts to face such charges last month.
 
However, when questioned as to whether he thought there would be less instances of such a crime due to these arrests, he stressed that it was too early to claim such a victory.
 
“I have not heard recently any reports of any instances of praedial larceny, so I cannot say what the impact is, but hopefully, it will have some sort of an impact but we are hoping that the police would continue the work they are doing at the moment,” he stated.
 
In April, four persons were arrested and charged for such acts; three for stealing sweet potatoes and the latter for having a large quantity of the crop in her possession without having a certificate of purchase. One individual pled guilty and was given an 18-month sentence for the crime.
 
Saying that the BAS had not heard anything since the arrests, he nevertheless commended the justice system on taking a serious stance against praedial larcenists.
 
“We are pleased to see the law moving in that direction,” Paul stated yesterday at the BAS Grotto, Beckles Road office. 

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