Four armed, masked bandits attacked and robbed a No 19 Village, Corentyne businessman and his family of $1M in cash and $150,000 in jewellery around 7:10 pm on Wednesday.
Shahid Yamad, 53, who operates a grocery and liquor restaurant, told the media that he was in the shop when he noticed a car dropping off the men who carried two guns and two cutlasses.
According to him, the bandits “rushed into the shop” and proceeded to beat him and strip him of his gold chain and ring and demanded that he hand over the cash.
They then took him into the adjoining kitchen and continued to lash him to his head and other parts of his body with the cutlass and he became unconscious. He was subsequently treated at the New Amsterdam Hospital.
They then turned their attention to his wife, Selena Ramalho, 25, who they also inflicted a beating upon. The bandits also took the woman to the upper flat where she was forced to hand over jewellery belonging to her and their two daughters, ages four and six.
The bandits, who also ransacked the entire house, fired two shots in the air to scare off the neighbours who were already on their way to the house. They had to run for cover.
The bandits then ran across the road and escaped with their booty. The police arrived about 15 minutes later and searched but the men were nowhere in sight.
Yamad recounted that earlier in the day two men entered his shop and made small purchases. One of the men was later identified as one of the bandits.
