Two Tobago Women Charged in $125k Theft Linked to Prison Inmate Mastermind

Two Tobago women have been charged in connection with the theft of $125,000 from a guesthouse in Canaan, Tobago, in August 2024. The money belonged to Vasha Foods Limited and was collected by two of the company’s employees who had traveled from Freeport to Tobago and hid the cash at the guesthouse. The accused—33-year-old Rene Yearwood of Canaan and 31-year-old Sarah Williams of Black Rock—allegedly acted on inside information provided by a prison inmate in Trinidad, who is linked to one of the employees’ relatives. The inmate is currently under investigation for several extortion-related matters and is believed to have masterminded the theft. The arrest came during an unrelated extortion investigation led by ACP Richard Smith and the Anti-Extortion Unit (AEU). Evidence uncovered during the probe connected the women and the inmate to the crime. Cpl Phillips of the AEU formally charged the women, and the arrests were made during a joint operation involving officers in Trinidad and Tobago, under the supervision of Snr. Supt. Earl Ellie.