-suspects held at Vreed-en-Hoop roadblock
By Chevy Devonish
An Uitvlugt goldsmith is nursing 15 stitches to his head after a brutal robbery on Saturday night and four suspects were later held at a Vreed-en-Hoop roadblock.
Suresh, only name given, a 51-year-old goldsmith was in no condition to talk to reporters when this newspaper visited his Ocean View residence yesterday.
According to the man’s wife, who asked that her name not be mentioned, the attack occurred around 8:45pm on Saturday soon after her husband had returned home. The woman stated that prior to her husband’s return, she was in a hammock, situated below the house, eating. “He come through the gate and walk toward the house. Me ain’t know is where he did coming from because when he left I was at a wake,” she said.
The woman, who was still visibly shaking, said that a few seconds after her husband came into the yard, a yellow Toyota Raum with a Taxi sign on the roof of the car pulled up to the gate and stopped. “When he see the car pull up he turn around and walk to the gate to see is who come, and then is when two men come out of the car and tell he don’t move, don’t scream.” Both of them were armed with guns, she noted.
The man’s wife stated that at this point, one of the armed men took her husband to the side of the yard and proceeded to beat him about the head with a gun. The other, she said, took her into her husband’s workshop and asked her to “show meh weh de gold deh.” On their way to the workshop she said that the bandit removed a gold necklace and a gold bangle that she was wearing at the time. “Me didn’t know bout any gold in deh because me don’t look after the gold so I couldn’t show he nothing”, said the woman.
After realizing he wasn’t getting anywhere, Suresh’s wife said the gunman who was battering her husband brought him into the workshop where he showed both gunmen the safe where the gold he was looking after for some of his clients was being kept. She added that he was made to open the safe, allowing the men to grab all that was contained inside.
The woman stated that after the bandits had finished with the safe, the one that was with her from the inception told her “come leh we go upstairs,” placing her in front of him, seizing the pair of gold earrings she was wearing in the process. She said that she began to walk, all the while thinking that the man was behind her, but realized that when she got upstairs that she was alone. The woman said she looked for her son who, unknowing to the bandits was upstairs all the while.
She stated that when the ordeal had begun some of her neighbours started yelling “thief thief.” She said that one of her neighbours “halla boy look somebody ah beat ya daddy,” which caused her son to run to the veranda where he saw his father being battered by one of the assailants.
“Meh tell he (her son) is bandits, and fuh crawl out on the shed at the side of the house to the neighbour yard, but when I peep out the veranda I see the men dem go through the gate and back into the car.”
Later she would learn that just as she had begun walking to go upstairs one of the bandits received a call on his cell phone, after which both men promptly left the premises. The woman speculated that the call was made by another man who, according to neighbours, was situated at a cross street not far up the road. She stated that the men re-entered the car, picked up the third man, and then drove off. The entire ordeal lasted for about 10-15 minutes. In all, the party consisted of four men, the two who carried out the robbery, one driver, and the lookout.
She stated that immediately after the men left she made numerous calls to the Leonora Police Outpost, all of which went unanswered. “We call and call but the phone keep ringing out, up to now nobody from deh aint reach hey.”
The woman stated that they were however, able to obtain assistance from one of her neighbours whose relative turned out to be a policeman. “We call he pon he cell phone and tell he wha happen plus give he the vehicle description and he immediately made some calls fuh we,” said Suresh’s wife.
She said that the man then called the Vreed-en-Hoop and Den Amstel police outposts, suggesting roadblocks be set up at strategic locations. The quick action taken by the rank led to the arrest of the four men who were intercepted while trying to get through the Vreed-en-Hoop road block.
Suresh’s wife stated that the police have since contacted her about the capture of the men. An ID parade is to be held later this week, where an eyewitness to the crime will be asked to identify the men.
According to the man’s son, his father has been working as a goldsmith for over 27 years, and this is the first time something of this nature has occurred.
