 |
Aldin
“Aussie” Phillip |
One
of Grenada’s most feared prisoners, Aldin “Aussie”
Phillip is due back on the island within a matter of weeks.
Informed sources told GRENADA TODAY that Phillip is due to be
released from a Vincentian prison after serving a sentence in
connection with a robbery committed on the nearby island.
A source inside the Grenadian Underworld said that the prisoner
telephoned a local in Grenada and informed the person that his
sentence is coming to an end and that he expects to be sent back
to Grenada.
Phillip and several other inmates fled to St. Vincent after members
of the Special Services Unit (SSU) in Grenada, launched a massive
manhunt to recapture all escapees from the Richmond Hill prison.
He was listed as one of the most wanted criminals in the Spice
Isle following a string of crimes committed on the island in the
aftermath of Ivan.
Phillip and some of the run-away prisoners were caught during
a two day joint sting operation by members of the Criminal Investigations
Department (CID) and the Rapid Response Unit (RRU) of the Royal
St. Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force (RSVGPF).
The feared prisoner was nabbed in the Layou village near the nation's
capital of Kingstown. Considered to be very elusive, the Vincentian
Police, acting on a tip-off, swooped down on Phillip and several
of the run-away Grenadian prisoners in their hideout following
the gas station robbery.
On his return home, the prisoner is expected to be handed over
to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the Royal Grenada
Police Force (RGPF) for questioning in connection with a spate
of robbery that took place immediately after the passage of Ivan.
A police insider confided in this newspaper that Phillip is one
of the prime suspects in the murder of an Indian businessman who
was shot in the leg at his home in the Tempe area in September
2004. The businessman later died at the St. George’s General
Hospital from the wound inflicted on his leg.
At the time of fleeing Grenada, the feared prisoner was serving
a sentence at the Richmond Hill prison, as well as waiting trial
for murder in connection with the slaying of Rawle "Southie"
Gilkes, a suspected drug dealer of Mt. Airy, St. Paul's.
The body of Gilkes was found with bullet wounds to the head in
his car along the Point Salines main road about four years ago.
The Prosecution’s main witness in the case against Phillip
is absconded murder convict Sheldon “Dutch” Bain who
is also locked up in a Vincentan jail on a murder wrap.
Dutch managed to escape from the Richmond Hill prison while awaiting
sentence for the murder of Belmont trafficker, Omelia Roberts
who incidentally is from St. Vincent.
