VICKY BOODRAM WALKED OUT OF THE GOLDEN GROVE PRISON ON MONDAY.

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, Wednesday November 29, 2017 – Acting Commissioner of Police Stephen Williams has ordered an investigation into the unauthorized release of a businesswoman who had been in prison awaiting trial on more than 150 fraud charges. Vicky Boodram apparently had the help of a cop – who is now also missing – getting out of jail.

She walked out of the Golden Grove Prison in Arouca, around 5:15 p.m. on Monday, but it was not until yesterday that the Ministry of National Security disclosed in a statement that she had escaped from the jail and was believed to be trying to get out of the country. All points of entry including ports and the airports were being closely monitored by law enforcement as a result.

The statement gave no details about when and how the 35-year-old Boodram was able to get out of the prison.

But police and prison sources have told local media outlets that two officers – a male and female – went to the women’s section of the Golden Grove Prison and requested that Boodram accompany them to “night court” – that does not exist. Prison authorities allowed her to leave.

The Trinidad Guardian reported that after initially collecting Boodram, the male police officer returned to the station where he dropped off his female colleague and left with Boodram, and neither he nor the prisoner has been seen since.

The newspaper said the policewoman was being questioned by officers of the Professional Standards Bureau up to yesterday evening, but also quoted Assistant Commissioner of Police McDonald Jacob as saying that she was acting on the advice of her male colleague when she went to the prison and was only made aware of what transpired when she arrived at work yesterday morning.

Boodram had been on remand since March last year after being denied bail on 39 fraud charges. Including those charges, she has a total 175 fraud matters before the court dating back to 2012.

Boodram, who operated a travel agency with her now estranged husband, Ravi Arjoonsingh, allegedly defrauded several people, taking money from them for cruises that never happened.

Her charges include: demanding property by virtue of a forged instrument; larceny, uttering a forged document; attempting to obtain property by false pretenses, money laundering; and obtaining crediting by fraud.