A resident of Hopetown, West Coast Berbice is searching desperately for his dark grey Toyota Carina motorcar, HB 6207, which disappeared from in front of his gate some time between last week Saturday night and Sunday morning.
aThe distressed Orin Isaacs told Stabroek News on Thursday that he woke up to discover the car missing and since then he has searched from the Corentyne to Georgetown but still had no luck in locating the car which is worth almost $1.8 million.
The father of three said that since he purchased the car nine months ago from an auto dealer in Georgetown he always parked it in front of his gate which was narrow.
He said he parked the car around 11 pm and went to bed. His wife woke up around 1.30 am to tend to their baby and heard a car driving off but did not look out, he said, as she did not have the slightest idea that their car would have been stolen as that was the “first time in history” that it happened in the village and residents are still shocked.
He is taking the loss of the car – which he described as his hand and foot – “very hard” as he was using it to earn a livelihood for his family of five and to take two of his children to school and lessons.
Isaacs who was employed at the Guyana Power & Light said he purchased the car after he was retrenched from his job. He said the car dealer had kept a copy of the car keys.
He said he has until next year to pay off fully for the car and had been making prompt payments to the dealer. However, he said he had an issue with the dealer who took $125,000 from him to pay for comprehensive insurance and only paid for third-party.
He said he made the discovery six months later when the insurance was up and demanded that the dealer refund him but he refused saying the money was not refundable.
Isaacs said he then informed the dealer that he would look after the insurance himself and returned to Berbice and did so. He said he then asked the insurance clerk to call the dealer and inform him.
He said one week later, a car pulled up alongside his as he was about to leave the village and the persons inside ordered him not to move. He inquired who they were and they said they were from the auto company where he had purchased his car.
They demanded to see the insurance for the car and Isaacs showed them and they left. On Monday morning when he visited the company to report that the car was missing, he said, a worker asked if “my name alone was on the insurance and I tell he yes and he said that was problems and he laughed and walked away.”
Isaacs said that his car was locked as well as the steering wheel. He said he asked workers at the company if they knew anything about the car and they denied.
He said he reported the matter to the Fort Wellington Police Station and it is being investigated. He also informed the insurance company.
