In a well planned heist at Zinnia Avenue, Bel Air yesterday morning, five armed men relieved a Brazilian diamond dealer and two directors of VN Gualodice Incorporated of a quantity of the precious stones, $4 million and other valuables.
The incident occurred at about 11.30am. All the attackers, according to police, were armed with guns. The two company directors Alain Freidman, 46, and Vico Cohen, of Cedar Court, and Brazilian diamond dealer Samuel Lina, 23, of Stanley Place, Kitty along with a security guard Christopher McAdam of Cedar Court, Georgetown were present at the location when the robbers attacked.
Investigations, police said, revealed that the perpetrators arrived in a motor car and were taken into the building by McAdam. The men told McAdam that they were there to transact business.
On entering the building, the five men pulled out firearms and held up McAdam along with the two directors and the diamond dealer. The four victims were tied up, police further reported, and then the perpetrators ransacked the place.
The men discovered a total of $4 million, a quantity of diamonds, three laptop computers, a satellite phone and three cellular phones, during their raid. These valuables were loaded in the motor vehicle and the gunmen escaped.
Investigators, this newspaper learnt from a senior police source, have since taken a silver gray car into custody. It is believed that this vehicle was used by the perpetrators. The five perpetrators remained on the run up to late last evening.
Another source told this newspaper that the business, which is housed in the Lot 58 Zinnia Avenue building named Ishmahal, was equipped with a surveillance system. This system was taken apart by the gunmen who also took away the storage system for the footage. The source said that this is an indicator that the robbery was well planned.
When Stabroek News arrived at the scene shortly after 12.10pm, an investigating team had just arrived at the location. Other police ranks were already present and were inside the building speaking with the victims.
Shortly before 1pm, police escorted McAdam to the Brickdam police station and the man later returned to the scene to assist further with investigations. McAdam and the other three victims, when approached for a comment, initially tried to deny that they had been robbed and later declined to speak.
A man, who works in the area, told Stabroek News that at about 10.15am, a silver gray 212 Toyota Carina stopped in front the house located next door the Lot 58 Zinnia Avenue building (Ishmahal). The Brazilians, the man said, have been operating from Ishmahal for approximately six to seven months. “The car just stop there and spend some minutes and I didn’t see anybody come out or go in and then it just drive off into Eping Avenue and then to Sheriff Street which is the only route it could take,” the man explained.
Less than half an hour later, at about 10.40am, the man reported, another gray car entered Zinnia Avenue. This time, he explained, the gray car stopped and the driver told him that he was from the Lot 58 yard and that a robbery was going on there.
“He ask me if there was other people inside my compound and I told him yes…I asked him where were the people who he tell me was being robbed and he told me that they were inside the building,” the man reported.
The man said that he assumed the driver of this gray car, PKK 5851, had been trying to contact the police but was not getting through. “I never see him (the driver) before…the people who operate at that place usually keep to themselves and when the day up more than 20 people would stop here and ask us how to find Lot 58, so we would just send them there,” the man explained.
By the time the driver of PKK 5851 arrived in front the Ishmahal building, two policemen on a bike entered the street, spoke with him and entered the building. Some time later, other ranks began to arrive at the scene.
Meanwhile, another resident told this newspaper that last week there were two strange vehicles in the area. The woman explained that there was a pick-up which came through her street, which is separated from the Ishmahal by a playground, and stopped there for a few minutes. A few days later another vehicle, this time a white car, circled the area, she said. “After I saw this I decided to start locking my front door,” the woman said.
Several security guards who work at residents and offices in the vicinity of the robbery scene also spoke with this newspaper. They all reported seeing a silver-gray car shortly after 10am.
“We are so accustomed to seeing vehicle come in this avenue and stop at that place (Ishmahal) to conduct business that we don’t take it for anything when a car comes around that area and parks for a few minutes,” one guard said.
