An Enmore businessman yesterday lost in excess of $3 million to an armed bandit who confronted his employee and snatched the bag outside the Princess Hotel, Providence.
Speaking to Stabroek News on the incident, Amarlall Itwaru, proprietor of A Itwaru Hardware and General Store at Lot 38 Blossom Scheme, Enmore, related that two of his porters were on their way to make a deposit at the Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry ATM situated in the hotel. The businessman explained that he is a client of Shell Gas Station, where he purchases Sol gas for resale, and since the company does not take direct payment he is required to pay through the bank. Itwaru further explained that he uses the ATM at Providence in order to avoid the congestion in Georgetown.
According to one of the porters, Anand Bachan, 27, he and another porter left Enmore around 9.30 am in the company of their driver Dhaniram Itwaru, and they arrived at Princess around 10. He continued that upon their arrival, he had just exited the vehicle with a black bag containing the money, and was on his way to make the deposit, when he was accosted by an unmasked man who demanded he hand over the bag. Bachan said he refused to comply and held onto the bag until the bandit drew a gun and placed it to his chest stating, “give me the bag or I’ll kill you”.
He said he then released the bag, after which the bandit ran to a vehicle that was parked a little way off from the entrance to the hotel.
Both men are in agreement that the bandit approached from a southern direction, while the vehicle awaited him north of the hotel.
Itwaru explained that the deposit is normally made on a daily basis at different times. Though he feels that the incident was a well-planned set up, the businessman is puzzled as to who could’ve done such a thing.
It has been ten years now that Itwaru has been operating a business in Enmore and this is not the first time he has lost at the hands of bandits. Last year he was accosted in Berbice as he was in the process of vending and the bandits took a quantity of his stock. (Abigail Semple)
