Countless East Coast pensioners went home without a penny yesterday after gunmen stormed the Beterverwagting Post Office and brazenly stole $3 million intended for payments.
The daylight robbery occurred around 10am yesterday, a few hours after the post office had opened to the lined-up pensioners.
One resident, who asked not to be named, told Stabroek News that she had been in the post office waiting to uplift her pension when two men stormed in and ordered everyone to remain silent.
“They told us they ain’t come for we; they just tell us to be quiet,” the woman said. She added that the men approached the glass window behind which the postmistress had been seated.
One bandit reportedly broke the glass with a hammer and demanded the pension money from the woman.
“Give me the money,” the bandit reportedly said before adding, “Is not you money, is government money.”
The postmistress acquiesced and the men hurriedly packed their bags with the cash.
However, the money was apparently too much and the men were forced to leave some behind.
According to the resident, the bandits clearly had no interest in the pensioners and did not rob them.
“It happen real quick,” the resident told Stabroek News. “They ain’t went in there even 15 minutes,” she continued. The woman expressed the belief that the postmistress had done the right thing by not fighting with the gunmen. She opined that, based on their movements, the bandits would not have hesitated to shoot the woman.
The men managed to escape in a waiting white Carina 192. One resident relayed that the car had been heavily tinted with a licence plate number in the PKK series.
According to reports, the bandits had been seen at least a half hour before the robbery, scouting out the post office.
Reports also indicated that the car had also been seen in the area on Monday.
Another resident of the area stated that she had passed the area and had noticed the white car parked under a large tree in the street beside the post office.
She recalled that she had thought it strange as few persons chose to park there. She further said that she witnessed the driver of the vehicle acting strangely; the man, she said, was constantly checking his phone and would duck his head low when anyone passed.
She said that the car eventually moved from its spot but instead of driving out of the community it instead circled the post office.
“How that car alone spinning I done know is nah no regular thing,” she said. She continued, “How this car parked up and how he deh on the phone, I just felt weird.” She added that the car eventually stopped at the entrance of the post office when the road was clear. The car’s door, she said, had been slightly ajar. Two of the bandits were soon seen dashing out of the post office, their bags laden with stolen cash.
From information received, police would usually be present on the first and second day of each month for the pension distribution. Though they had been present on Monday, they were absent yesterday when the bandits attacked.
However, when Stabroek News arrived at the scene yesterday, detectives were on site and refused to divulge information or allow entrance on to the premises and further indicated that the matter was still being investigated. In a subsequent statement, police confirmed that the amount taken was $3 million.
The postmistress was unavailable to speak as she was being grilled by the detectives on the robbery.
Residents opined that the post office should be afforded more security, particularly during pension distributions. “They need to fence that place up properly!” one man angrily said. He went on that a guard should be permanently affixed to secure the place.
According to witnesses, the postmistress had been the only official in the post office at the time as the mailpersons had already been dispatched.
They further indicated that the postmistress had contacted the police early that morning and had told them that she had collected the pension money. However, there was no police presence in the area until after the robbery when the detectives eventually turned up to investigate.
Residents expressed the hope that none of the residents in the area would be victimised by the police as they conducted their investigations. According to the residents, it was a norm for the police to enter the community and take innocent persons into custody after crimes had been committed
“I hope nobody ain’t come nowhere and tek me son cause it gon’ be bare problems,” one woman emphasised.
