A Bel Air Village businessman was murdered last night by three men who turned up at his home posing as Customs officers.
Dead is Frank Persaud, a 44-year old father of one of Lot 1, Area L, First Street, Bel Air Village, Georgetown.
According to reports, sometime after 8 pm last night three men purporting to be Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) officers visited the man’s home under the pretext of carrying out a search of his property. His wife who answered the trio was subdued by one of the men and the man’s accomplices took Persaud to the back of the family’s house and proceeded to duct-tape and stab him about his body. The couple’s two-year-old daughter was also duct-taped.
Persaud was stabbed several times about the body and according to a hospital source, the man sustained two blows behind his head which may have contributed to his death.
His wife, Nalisha Persaud reported at the scene that the men arrived at their home via a taxi and she said that she greeted them at the door and they reported their intentions. She said one of the men wore a GRA identification badge and according to her, her husband, who was downstairs exercising in his gym at the time, enquired what was happening.
The teary-eyed woman related that she questioned why Customs officers would visit her home at that hour of the night but according to her, her husband told her that she should allow the men to carry out their duties.
“They rap pon the door and me allow them to come in after Frank said me should let them carry out them duty”, she related. According to her, one of the men attacked her. The men took the woman to the upper flat of the home and proceeded to ransack the house but she did not say if the men took anything from the house.
She said one of the men taped her daughter’s mouth and pushed the toddler in a corner as they searched the family’s home. She reported too that there was a canter truck parked in front of their home during the attack and residents told this newspaper that it was used as a getaway vehicle by the killers.
A relative related that the ordeal lasted for more than 30 minutes during which time persons in the area dialled the 911 emergency number but to no avail. The businessman was found in a section of the bottom flat of the house in an unconscious state. He was rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH) where he succumbed to his injuries.
The man’s wife stated that on Monday afternoon several persons visited their home and questioned what type of goods the family had in their possession.
She did not say what transpired after but a relative related that the men told the family that they would return the following day (yesterday) to carry out a search of the property.
Neighbours and relatives converged at the family’s home last night as news of the man’s death spread. Many in the neighbourhood expressed shock at the incident, noting that they never envisaged that such an incident would occur in the quiet community.
The businessman operates a stall in the Stabroek Market area and according to reports he also imports goods, mainly confectionery from neighbouring Brazil, a relative stated.
A team of police officers visited the family’s home last evening as the police force carried out investigations into the man’s death.
The police have had very little success in solving cases of this type.
