by Charles Gladden
BELIZE CITY, Thurs. Aug. 22, 2024
In the early hours of Wednesday, August 21, the Tubal Trade and Vocational Institute, situated at Mile 10 on the Philip Goldson Highway, was reportedly ransacked by a group of robbers who made off with several pieces of equipment with a combined value of near $40,000.
The Tubal Trade and Vocational Institute provides training to at-risk youths, especially from the Ladyville area, who are helped to develop foundational attitudes, technical and life skills required to obtain and retain gainful employment.
Public relations officer for Tubal Trade and Vocational Institute, Shane Neal said that his father was the first at the scene several hours after the burglary, and saw the burglar-bar door open and clothes scattered on the floor.
“When he went in, there were some clothes on the floor. They pull out the drawers, they turn over things. They went into barrels, they took over 40,000 dollars’ worth of stuff,” Neal said. “The school had a new PA system, they took that. They took a couple of laptops. They took all the tools the students would normally use. They took some drills, and we’re still trying to process to see exactly what are other items that may be missing,” he added.
Neal confirmed that four persons entered the compound, as the security camera inside the office recorded them ransacking the office after 12:30 a.m. and breaking the locks to gain entry.
“They took out two heavy chests that they took out, and we found the chests. They were trying to get inside, but apparently, they couldn’t. But then they took some other stuff they could have carried,” Neal highlighted.
He noted that this is the first time that the school has been burglarized, and speculated that it could have possibly been an inside job.
As a result of the burglary, the Tubal Trade and Vocational Institute is forced to postpone its scheduled opening next week to a later date.
“The students rely heavily on the equipment, on the tools to use, and because of not having the tools, we may have to push back the start at the school … school was supposed to start this coming Monday, and so we will have to push it back for an extra week; and so we’re reaching out to the public, if they can assist in terms of tools, [or] for those who want to give finance to help us,” Neal said.
Persons wishing to assist the institution can contact Lyndon Bailey, the founder of Tubal, at 602-8991 or 613-2245, or reach out to the school via their social media pages.