Three masked bandits – two carrying cutlasses and the other a gun – attacked and robbed a West Canefield, Canje couple of almost $2M in cash and jewellery around 7:50 pm on Thursday.
The gunman fired two shots in the air after the attack. The bandits relieved shop owner, Kamaldeo `Ringo’ Atomdeo, 40, and his wife, Monica of over $360,000 cash and over 300 pennyweight of gold worth more than $1.5 M and escaped by foot in the direction of the Canje Creek.
Atomdeo told Stabroek News that he was sitting in front of his shop when the men entered and told him not to say anything. He said the bandits broadsided him with a cutlass and ordered him into the shop – which he accessed though the sitting room – and two of them followed him.
He said the men removed a Citizens watch from his hand valued $18,000. They also broke all the lights in the shop before emptying the cash from a carton box into a backpack.
His national identification card and TIN certificate that were in the box were also stolen.
Meantime the third bandit took Monica to the upper flat of the building and demanded that she hand over all the jewellery.
The businessman said he was relieved that his nine-year-old son was not at home at the time of the ordeal which lasted about five minutes. He said the child who had gone out on a school tour returned 20 minutes later but was still terrified when he learnt what had occurred.
He recalled that he also suffered at the hands of armed bandits in 2003 when they robbed him of 140 pennyweight of gold jewellery.
He said the police took about four hours to take statements on that occasion but nothing was recovered and no one was caught.
