An Enmore businessman and his family are now traumatised, after they were attacked by armed bandits and robbed of approximately $2M in cash and jewellery.
The incident occurred some time after 7:30 pm on Wednesday, as Karranchand Itwaru, 48, his family and workers had just completed locking up his general store at Station Street Enmore.
The man’s wife, Cindy Itwaru, 48, she was upstairs when the incident occurred. “Meh husband go upstairs and meh son—Trevor Itwaru—and this other worker— Leon Wickham—was outside stand-up and the watchman went at the side of the house, and the car come and pull-up and five of them rush out—one of them went inside de car—and them come to he [the son] and put the gun to he head, but he jus turn round and them knock he,” she said.
Police yesterday said Trevor Itwaru and Wickham were standing at the gate to the General Store when they were confronted by the perpetrators, who drove up in a motor car, held them at gunpoint and took them into the house.
Inside, the men also held up Itwaru and his wife and tied up their victims, after which they ransacked the house and took away a quantity of jewellery, $300,000 in local currency, US$1,300 and a quantity of ammunition.
According to Cindy, the men led her son and the watchman in the direction of the stairs, by which time her husband was on his way down to remind the two to take a bottle of water upstairs. He too was accosted by the men at gunpoint.
“One of them say shoot [her husband] but them nah shoot. Them hold he and dem cyar he straight upstairs,” she said. By this time, the distraught woman related that she heard the commotion on the stairs and she too turned back to see what was the matter when she was accosted.
“They tell we don’t look at them and them seh lie down and face the floor and them start to tie we up and them say, ‘way de money deh?’” The family then directed the men to their middle bedroom, in which there was a bag along with a canister filled with the day’s earnings and the profit of the business. She said that after picking up the canister and the bag, one of the men received a phone call, following which they hurried downstairs, out of the yard, into the car and sped away in the direction of the Enmore pasture.
The woman said that the female workers in the store later revealed to her that after the shop closed and they were on their way home, they observed a purple-coloured car patrolling the street and its occupants looking in at the store. She said that at the time, one of the girls jokingly said to the occupants: “Is wah yall watching in deh for? Dem ah watch meh!”
The police were summoned and according to the businessman they arrived about half hour after the robbery.
They took statements from him and his son and promised to return yesterday to hear from his wife. The family related that the police did not pursue the perpetrators, as it was already too late to trace them.
Apart from the cash, the businessman’s wife said that the men took her wedding band, another gold ring and a diamond ring, which belonged to her, and a gold band belonging to her husband.
She said that only one of the five intruders was wearing a handkerchief above his nose to hide his identity.
