The Brown's Town police say two men have been taken into custody following a series of motor-vehicle thefts in the St Ann's community last Thursday and Friday in which three cars were stolen, one at gunpoint.

The identities of the men, who police say are suspects in the gun-related robbery, are however being withheld pending further investigations and the staging of an identification parade.

Constabulary Communication Network Corporal Stacey-Ann Hawkins said the men were picked up last Friday and Saturday.

Police say the driver of a 2003 Toyota Altis motor car, a female teacher, was pounced upon by two men just after pulling up at her Huntley Avenue home in Brown's Town. The police say one of the men brandished a firearm and relieved the 34-year-old woman of her handbag with her car key before making off with the vehicle.

Acting on intelligence

Corporal Hawkins said the Port Maria police accosted one suspect in that matter the following day. The other was picked up in Salem, Runaway Bay, last Saturday after the police, acting on intelligence, went to premises in the district where he was staying.

A .37mm tear-gas projectile gun, which had been modified to fire 12 gauge rounds, was also found in the house occupied by the man. He was subsequently charged for the find.

The other reported car thefts in the Brown's Town area took place last Frida, when a 1997 Toyota Corolla station wagon and a 2001 Toyota Corolla (Kingfish) were stolen between 7 a.m. and 2 p.m. No one has since been taken into custody for those robberies.

The Brown's Town police said that information so far has not established a link between the two men in custody and the other two thefts. None of the stolen vehicles has been recovered.