Heyliger's stepfather's home raided as the LARIMAR investigation heightens.
PHILIPSBURG:--- A team of TBO officers who arrived on the island on Thursday conducted a search at Heyliger’s Building in Pointe Blanche. The building is managed by George Pelgrim, the stepfather of UD Leader Theodore Heyliger.
The search team consists of Prosecutors that were moving back and forth Tuesday morning. Searches also took place at the homes of relatives of the UD leader in Guana Bay.
SMN News has learned that the search in Pointe Blanche is linked to the LARIMAR Investigation.
Investigators arrested an employee of Intermar identified as Ron Elferink, Elferink is a former employee of RBBT Bank.
The TBO team also seized a number of items including data carriers, cash, administration documents, laptops, and cellular phones.
SMN News learned that the searches will continue this week and more businesses and homes will be raided as the investigation intensifies.
The Prosecutor’s office remains tightlipped on the ongoing searches.
The LARIMAR investigation involves Windward Roads, Ronald Maasdam and others that were arrested and questioned in the past months.
Spokesman for the TBO Roderick Gouverneur confirmed that a suspect identified as R.E was arrested.
It should be noted that the Prosecutor's Office is handling the ongoing investigation with kid's gloves as they refuse to divulge information regarding the ongoing searches. Other politicians including Members of Parliament Frans Richardson, Patrick Ilidge, Romane LaVille, Channel Brownbill, and Silvio Matser did not get the same treatment as the UD leader. Residents on St. Maarten are outraged as they believe the Prosecutor's Office and TBO are exercising class justice when it comes to releasing information to the media on these searches. One of the concerns raised on Tuesday is the "sweetheart" deal granted to Windward Roads, as they were fined $2M in this ongoing investigation. Windward Roads did not have to pay the fine out of pocket, instead, the Department of VROMI has to give the contractor sewage roadworks to complete which will not go on bidding and there is no one in place to ensure that the company does not inflate its rates.
