TWO brothers, charged with five counts of receiving stolen property, were yesterday granted bail in the Corporate Area Resident Magistrate’s Court.

The brothers, 21 year-old labourer, Dino Thomas, and 19 year-old Duran Thomas, a student of the Caribbean Maritime Institute, were held on February 21, during a police raid at a premises in Linstead, St Catherine at about 6:00 am.

According to the prosecution, illegal car parts and tools to cut up vehicles, were found and seized during the raid.

The premises, called ‘The Junkyard’, is owned by the father of the two accused, Michael Thomas, the police said.

According to investigating officer, Superintendent G C Grant, the car parts have been linked to five vehicles stolen at gunpoint in Kingston and St Catherine and investigations were still ongoing to determine the extent of the crimes committed. The car parts recovered was enough to repair up to 50 vehicles, the prosecution told the court.

Grant also told the court that he and his family have been living in fear, as he had been threatened by persons who are closely connected to the case.

“I have been made many offers but I have refused. They say it’s one way out. These are mean people”, Grant told the court.

Defence attorney, Sean Kinghorne, in applying for his clients’ bail, told the court that the police had forced his clients to sign papers, stating they knew of the illegal car parts. Kinghorne said his clients had been granted bail in a St Catherine court on a charge of unlawful possession in a related case. As soon as bail was granted, however, the police again arrested the brothers for an identification parade. According to Kinghorne, the brothers were not pointed out in the identification parade but were still not released, as the police then slapped five counts of receiving stolen property on them.

Presiding magistrate, Jennifer Straw, after listening to both arguments, expressed the court’s view that there was no reason that the men should not be granted bail.

Both men were granted bail in the sum of $80,000 with a surety. Conditions of their bail are that both brothers reside with their mothers, who were both present in court. Dino Thomas will be required to report to the Chapleton police every Tuesday and Friday, while his brother Duran is required to report to the Linstead police on the same days. Both brothers were also ordered to give the police their fingerprints. They will again attend court on April 1, this year.

RM Straw also had some words of advice for Superintendent Grant.

“Mr Michael Thomas putting pressure on you? You need to put some pressure on him. The same thing them trying to do to Saddam, you must do to him. Flush him out”