Police in Berbice have launched a manhunt for two bandits who robbed a Canje businessman early yesterday morning.
The masked bandits terrorised and robbed Maurice “Bayee” Sookraj, 58, making off with cash as well as a quantity of articles including jewellery and electronics.
Sookraj, who operates a variety store, was brushing his teeth around 7.30 am when the butt of a sawn-off shotgun was pressed against his face.
The two bandits, who had gained entry to the house through an open window, dealt him lashes behind his head and on his shoulder. They ordered him not to move and tied him up with a “bicycle cable” before placing him to lie on the ground. Meanwhile, they ransacked the premises while demanding money and jewellery. His ordeal lasted for 15 minutes, during which time one of the men hit him repeatedly with a hammer. The men then escaped with the loot but residents saw them “running through the street.” Sookraj soon followed, shouting, “Thief, thief!”
The men reportedly left with $150,000 in cash in addition to the other articles.
Residents said two men, known as “Blacks” and “Duck,” were seen running through the back street. Their descriptions fit those of the robbers given by the businessman.
Shortly after the robbery, police received a call that the bandits were hiding out in an abandoned house at Second Street, Betsy Ground. The house was searched and police recovered a sawn-off shotgun and ammunition, a crow bar, a knife, a black mask, a black wig, and a blow torch. They also found a part of a computer taken from Sookraj during the robbery as well as a bag with three pounds of marijuana.
The search for the two robbers led police to the trail of another man, known as the “Colonel,” who was sentenced to a five-year jail term in his absence. The man, for whom there is an outstanding arrest warrant, was spotted on a dam but managed to elude capture by swimming across a trench before heading towards the Canje Creek. Although the man was not present at the robbery, residents had seen him the day before in company of two others, riding around in the area.
Police subsequently visited the home of the two robbery suspects but no one was found. Up to press time the lawmen were stilling trying to flush the men out of hiding.
This is the fourth time Sookraj was robbed in less than four years.