Two Berbice security guards who have been stealing from their employer for over a year were yesterday morning caught red-handed when the man acting on a hunch visited his business and found one of them with a haversack filled with items on his way home.
Subsequent searches of the guards’ homes unearthed some $1.2M in stolen items.
The discovery by Roopnarine Ramnauth of one seven-pound tin of Fern Leaf milk, two bottles of chocolate milk, packets of curry powder and one bottle of Sunny Delight in the employee’s bag sparked the searches of the homes of the men by the police and items were discovered under beds, in suitcases and elsewhere.
Yesterday, Ramnauth was still in shock over the discovery as he told Stabroek News he could not understand how one of the men, who has been working with him for two years and whom he has known for several years, could have stolen from him for over a year. He said the pilfering almost led to the collapse of his business. The man, who owns the Narines General Store at Bath Settlement, West Coast Berbice, from which he operates wholesale and retail outlets with a bond attached and the N&N Supermarket at Bush Lot, West Coast Berbice, said that only on Saturday night he and his wife were trying to figure out how their business was going downhill.
“We were trying to find out what was happening, we say it is the supermarket because we open it last October and I use to take secret stock of the items in the supermarket but finding nothing missing. So we wondering what direction the business taking,” the man told this newspaper.
He averages that he had lost in excess of $8M during the period the stealing started.
Hunch
The man told Stabroek News that he woke up early yesterday morning and he felt that something was not right. “I usually take my exercise inside but I decided to go outside and ride this morning and I say leh me pass by me business place.” He said that as he approached his business place at around 5:30 am he observed that the watchman, who has been working for him for about two months, but whose duty ends at 6 am, was leaving the premises. When asked why he was leaving so early the man said he wanted to use the toilet. The businessman said he also observed that the man had a packed haversack and he decided to search it.
“I tell he leh me see what he have in the back and he say ‘boss man is [name of the other guard] give me lil things’ but I tell he I still want see and when he open the bag I see the things.”
The man said that he immediately contacted the police. He said when the police arrived they proceeded to search the first watchman’s house where items worth about $200,000 were discovered under beds and in suitcases.
But it was during the search of the second watchman’s home that some $1M worth of items was found. This watchman was described as a “trusted person.”
“From the things we find in he house I figure that this thing going on for over a year because some of the things we ent even get them in stock anymore, we don’t get them and it mean that he thief them since last year.”
As the items were being found and removed from the man’s house many villagers came out and some of them along with Ramnauth’s relatives were taunting the obviously ashamed watchman who stood with his head bowed. Many of them asked him how he could have stolen from Ramnauth who trusted him.
Stabroek News approached the man as he stood outside his home where several sacks of rice, large bottles of oil, tins of milk and other items were placed, and when asked for a comment he said he was sorry he stole from Ramnauth adding that he got back his “things I just want the story done.”
Suspicious
Ramnauth said earlier this year he began to suspect that the watchman might be stealing from him but he had no proof. “He is the mastermind and I suspect it but I ent had no proof. You know whenever we had problems with any watchman he use to pick and choose who he want to work with him suh now I suspect he hire people who woulda thief with he.”
He said when he hired the man, whom he paid $8,000 a week, he was living in an unfinished concrete house. “All I see is this man done he house, it paint up, get panel doors and if you see fancy things inside. Where he get that money from?”
His suspicion grew when within the last few months the man bought a car, a canter truck and started a hollow block building business.
But the man said even though he suspected he had no proof and did not want to accuse his employee wrongfully.
And while the watchman continued to prosper Ramnauth said that his business was going down the drain.
He said on several occasions he would observe that cartoons of items were opened and a few were missing and he would ask his employees why they were doing retail sales in such a manner. They would deny that they were the ones who were opening the cartoons but Ramnauth said he had no other answer as he still had no proof of anyone entering the premises after he would have closed it in the evening.
He has since discovered that the men removed a large padlock from an unused door and would use the bottom half of the two-part door to gain entry. He said the padlock was covered by a large tarpaulin and it was only yesterday morning in an attempt to find out how the men entered the bond that he discovered the padlock missing
From all indications the watchman, the one described as the ‘mastermind’, stole the items and took them to another location to be sold.
Ramnauth said that the man through his brothers has since offered to pay him $2M to settle the matter. “If he got two million dollar just like that to give me you could imagine how much money he been making all this time,” the man said.
He said that he hopes that justice would be served in this case while mentioning another matter where a former employee stole $100,000 from him.
“This man confess everything to the police and the matter just dragging out in court, no trial nothing ent start and is like over five months now,” the man said.
The two guards were led away yesterday in handcuffs and taken into custody at the Fort Wellington Police Station.
