For the second time in less than a year, gunmen barged into the Fulton Court apartment of a Brazilian family and robbed them of almost a million worth in cash, electronics and jewellery.
The gunmen also made off with passports, identification cards and other important documents belonging to the Brazilian nationals. While the six victims were not physically harmed, a spokeswoman told Stabroek News on their behalf, they were terrified by the ordeal.
In a press statement yesterday afternoon, police said that the incident occurred at about 7.30 pm on Tuesday. Carlos Carlton, a driver, and five Brazilians were attacked and robbed by three men, two of whom were armed with handguns.
Carlton, 31, police said, was about to enter the Church and Irving streets apartment when he was held at gunpoint by the three attackers. He was reportedly pushed into the apartment by the gunmen, where the four Brazilian men and a woman were sitting.
They were all held up and robbed of six cellular phones, jewellery, $440,000, US$1,050 and a laptop computer. The men subsequently escaped in a waiting motor vehicle.
When Stabroek News visited Fulton Court yesterday afternoon, management declined to comment about the matter. They indicated that they would prefer if the incident was kept out of the press and expressed concern for the business’ image. However, a spokeswoman for the Brazilian family explained that Carlton was employed by them and on Tuesday evening the man visited the apartment to return some receipts and money left over from an amount he had been allotted to shop for a trip. “They were preparing to go in the interior so he (Carlton) went to buy a few things and he came back with the change and the receipts and so on for the boss,” the woman, who declined to have her name published, told this newspaper.
The front door to the apartment was open, the woman said the victims had related to her, and one of the Brazilian men was sitting near the entrance. This was the man’s habit, she explained, and it was he who first noticed the gunmen.
There is a security post near Fulton Court’s front gate. At the time of the incident, a male security officer was on duty.
When Carlton entered the compound, she explained, the gates would have been opened and close to allow his van in. Shortly after Carlton entered, a second vehicle containing residents from a rear apartment in the housing complex followed.
It was when the second car was allowed access to the compound that the gunmen barged in, she said.
They made their way to the entrance of the apartment and before Carlton could lock the door one of the gunmen pushed his weapon through and threatened to kill him. “Imagine this time they didn’t even wear a mask…the one that was at the door with the gun used a piece of cloth right in the apartment to tie it over his face…I think it is the same three gunmen who attacked the family last December…during the last robbery they wore masks,” the woman explained.
One of the attackers, she further related, stood sentry at the door while the other two entered the apartment and demanded valuables from the inhabitants. They stripped the Brazilians of their cellular phones, jewellery and the money in their pockets before proceeding to a bedroom which they ransacked and discovered more cash.
Immediately after the attack, the men calmly walked from the apartment, got into a waiting car and left the scene.
Meanwhile, the woman said that the passports and other important documents and credit cards belonging to Esmael Gomes da Luz and Decio Souza Ramos were stolen.
They do not believe that the men will keep the documents and are offering a reward to anyone who can return them if they are found. Persons with information can contact the family’s representative on 650-0069.
“In December when they got robbed they lost a laptop and over one million dollars in cash and other valuables…this time the documents have been stolen and those are most important and we will welcome anyone who can help return them,” she reiterated.
