Trinidad: Two killed in Police sting over Facebook Marketplace robbery

Trinidad and Tobago: A sting operation led by officers of the Trinidad Police, on January 16, 2026, resulted in the death of two men and the injury of one during an attempted robbery linked to Facebook Marketplace transactions, near the Mt. Hope/Mt. Lambert Community Centre.

According to police reports, the incident took place on Friday, when the officers of North Central Division, including ASP Sunil Barath, received a complaint from a person who intended to buy a Nissan Tiida motor car at a cost of $40,000.

He told police that during all the process of transactions he found something fishy and after the seller told him about the location of such a marketplace he became suspicious.

Following which the officers posed as buyers and went to the Mt. Hope/Mt. Lambert Community Centre at Community Drive, an arranged place to meet by seller. After that officers took up strategic positions in the area.

While waiting for the seller to come, two men out of four suddenly came from a white Nissan Tiida, and pointed guns at the victims, who were actually police officers, and announced a robbery.

Responding to which the officers openly shot both the suspects who fell on the ground immediately while the other two tried to flee the scene but were encountered by the other officers who also shot and injured them.

Authorities claimed that out of the four men one escaped police capture and is believed to have been wounded, while the other three were taken to the Mt. Hope Hospital where on arrival doctors pronounced two men dead and the other critical.

Officers also stated that they have recovered two firearms from the scene of the incident. Currently they are actively investigating the matter and are trying to capture the fourth suspect.