Five heavily-armed gunmen last evening invaded the home of a Stanleytown, West Bank Demerara businessman robbing him of over $1.5M in cash while threatening to kill him and his family.
The gunmen, who arrived at the man’s home via the Demerara River, escaped by boat. Police up to last night were patrolling the area with two vessels of their own. There was widespread fear last night in the small community which has had its fair share of trouble at the hands of now dead serial rapist, Neil Bovell.
Stabroek News was unable to solicit a comment from the businessman, Gladwyn Lall. Speaking to Stabroek News last night a senior police officer in the West Demerara division said that the gunmen arrived at Lall’s home at around 6:40 pm.
The officer said at the time the man’s family was upstairs, while he and one of his workers were downstairs. The gunmen accosted him and the worker and led them upstairs where they were placed to lie face-down. The man’s family was also placed to lie on the ground. During this period two of the gunmen guarded them, while the others demanded cash and jewellery. They ransacked the house and found around $1.5M in cash and jewellery before escaping.
Armed bandits have routinely used the river as a getaway route after committing robberies and other crimes along the East Bank and also West Bank Demerara.
On December 11 last year at Anna Catherina, West Coast Demerara, a gang armed with guns, robbed Basdeo Sahadar of $5.7 million and 355 ounces of raw gold valued at $55 million.
Reports are that shortly before 7 pm on the said date; a gang of armed men invaded the Anna Catherina home of Sahadar and as he attempted to run away, shot him in the left hip. Holding his son Davendra at gunpoint, they ransacked the home and discovered the items. Firing shots in the air, the bandits escaped in a waiting car after residents began blocking the road. Police had said that it is suspected that the bandits escaped by boat along the Atlantic Ocean. On December 13, acting on information received, the police arrested one of the suspects in Kitty. Police in a press release had said that $1.8 million had been recovered from his hotel room.
Back in September last year the Manageress and a sales representative attached to the Digicel outlet at Grove Public Road, EBD, were attacked and robbed by three men all armed with handguns. Reports were that the Manageress Kineon Branford and sales rep Sean Freeman were in the building when the men entered and held them at gunpoint.
They then took away an undisclosed sum of cash, a laptop computer and a number of cell phones, including the sales rep’s personal cell phone. The bandits then escaped by boat along the Demerara River.
In April also last year nine bandits invaded the Demerara Oxygen Company Limited headquarters at Eccles, East Bank Demerara and carted off some $5M and also took away the security monitor. The police had said then that the nine gunmen entered the company’s premises from the direction of the Demerara River. While some of them stood guard, three others went to the accounts area where they held up employees who were in the cashier’s cage and robbed the company of over $5 million and four employees of jewellery and cellular phones. After the robbery police said the criminals jumped into a boat that was waiting in the Demerara River and escaped.
There was also another case in June 2006 when a gang of seven masked men carted off $30M from Muneshwer’s Hardware Ltd., Water Street, Georgetown. Police had said that the criminals, three of whom were armed with handguns, held up the five unarmed security guards on duty at the business entity at the time and placed them in a storage bond. While one of the bandits stood guard, the other men used a welding set to cut their way into the building and into a metal safe from which they took away the cash. After collecting the cash the bandits escaped by way of the Demerara River.
The police have been criticized for lacking boats and other resources to adequately patrol the rivers and track down bandits.
