There was a major break breakthrough this week on Crime Watch when host Ian Alleyne cracked a fraud and theft racket. Alleyne described Kerwin Ferdinand’s case as one of the biggest Crime Watch had ever seen after assisting in his capture. Ferdinand was exposed by Alleyne after Naomi Williams came to the show claiming that she was called by Ferdinand, who told her to come to see him for a job interview.
Upon meeting him, Williams told Alleyne that was told that she could not wear jewelry when she went to see the owners of the company she was allegedly being interviewed by. She told Alleyne she then removed the jewelry and placed it in her handbag. Ferdinand then told her to walk inside to meet another interviewee and she reportedly left the handbag with him. As she walked inside, however, Ferdinand, with the bag in hand, immediately fled the scene.
The Crime Watch host aired a picture of the suspect at the time on the show. After the shot was aired numerous calls came in with over 17 people claiming to have gone through similar experiences with the individual. They all said he pretended to be in a position to secure jobs for them, invited them to interviews at various locations, then made off with their valuables after telling them they could not go into interviews with them.
The following day, Alleyne was able to contact Ferdinand, who agreed to meet with him at Price Plaza, Chaguanas. The drama unfolded after Alleyne met Ferdinand at the arranged place, where he confessed to the crime. Ferdinand further claimed to have been engaging in such activity for years because he did not have any money. Alleyne quickly called Senior Sup. Johnny Abraham, of the Central Division, and told him that he had the perpetrator with him.
Shortly after the call, Abraham and a team from the Chaguanas Task Force arrived at Price Plaza. But on seeing the police, Ferdinand locked himself in the car and refused to come out, although the police tried to negotiate with him to do so. Alleyne was eventually able to persuade Ferdinand to give himself up and he was taken into police custody. The Crime Watch host thanked Abraham and his team for assisting him in apprehending Ferdinand.
In another case, the mother of special child Mathias Manson, 18, came to Crime Watch in tears as she begged Alleyne to help her find her son, who went missing on August 12 around 12 pm. Manson's picture was aired on Tuesday’s show and within one or two hours the boy was found and is back home with his mother. Manson's mother came back to thank Alleyne for all his help. In a similar case, Lydia Safe came on to the show seeking help to find her father, Philbert Safe, of North Manzanilla, who went missing August 5.
After airing his photo conducting investigations, Safe was found that night and is now back home with his daughter.
