Almost two months after a headmistress and her husband were robbed by men dressed as policemen while on their way to the airport, the police are yet to make any headway in their investigation.
In an interview with Stabroek News, Latchmin Gopaul expressed dissatisfaction with the police’s investigation thus far. According to the woman, the police have not had any satisfactory leads, despite indications from the victims that a suspected involved person is known to them.
Gopaul explained that shortly after the attack, she and her husband began reconsidering the circumstances. They both strongly believed that the job was an inside one with information being passed on to the robbers.
On their return in Guyana, the Gopauls approached the police with their suspicions in the hope that the alleged conspirator would at least be questioned. However, nothing has been done so far, Gopaul said.
She added that they were called in for identification parades which failed miserably. “I was taken back that the parade was just a bunch of savages; they were natty-hair, dirty looking people, a far cry from the men we described that attacked us,” Gopaul said.
She added that some of the men had been in custody before the robbery and were not even supposed to be a part of the parade. She expressed disgust at the police’s procedure. “You [the police] come and ask me to do a parade and then asking these people which one of them were in prison before the second of August?” Gopaul lamented.
She further said that the actual parade, which had only taken about 5 minutes to conduct, had taken hours to actually begin.
She emphasised that the suspected collaborator known to them was never questioned or taken in by the police.
Gopaul went on that she has been given the “royal runaround” by the police. She said that, upon their return to Guyana, she and her husband immediately visited the Timehri Police Station to indicate their return. She further said that they were asked to leave their number and would be contacted later. However, after a few days passed with no word from the Timehri police, the Gopauls decided to head to the Brickdam station for help. There, they both gave lengthy statements to the police on the robbery. She explained that her statement had been “a very detailed account” that took up about 12 pages.
According to Gopaul, she was contacted on Tuesday for a second ID parade. However, she said she did not attend as she believes the police are just “going through the motions” and simply producing men for the ID parade who do not fit the descriptions.
“I think that they’re not doing anything; they’re doing a little to show that they are somewhat helping us but they are just going through the motions. They’re just pushing us around,” she said.
On the morning of August 2, Gopaul and her husband along with a driver were heading to the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) when they were stopped by men clad in police uniforms. They were subsequently robbed by the same men.
According to Gopaul, their vehicle was pulled over by the supposed officers while the driver stepped out. “Come, come, come! This car got to go to the police station now because it was involved in an accident,” the shorter of the two ‘officers’ said.
Meanwhile, the other officer jumped into the driver’s seat while the first ordered Gopaul’s husband out of the passenger seat.
The Gopauls were told that they were going to be dropped off at the airport since it was just the driver that was needed. However, when the vehicle was driven into a dark street the Gopauls instantly became suspicious.
At this time, Gopaul said, her husband became skeptical and began nudging her from his seat beside her, indicating that he did not believe that the men were indeed police officers.
Eventually, he whispered, “This is a robbery; this is a hold-up. They might kill us.”
They were subsequently taken to secluded area where they were robbed of millions of dollars in cash and jewellery. Gopaul explained that the large sum of money was for supplies for her school.
Though the men threatened to kill them following a brief scuffle with Gopaul’s husband, their lives were spared and the trio were left tied up while the robbers left in the driver’s car. They were eventually rescued by a passing GT&T vehicle and Gopaul and her husband were transported to the Timehri Police Station. The driver did not accompany them and his car was later recovered.
In an interview with Stabroek News, Crime Chief Leslie James said that the instances of police impersonation are of concern to the police and urged the public to be vigilant when travelling.
Over the years there have been similar cases. Last month, two priests and a brother along with their Guyanese hosts were on their way from CJIA when they were stopped and later robbed by men posing as police officers.
