A man accused of breaking into the National Agriculture Research and Extension Institute (NAREI) compound and stealing over $500,000 in electronics and cash, was yesterday remanded to prison.
It is alleged that Stephen Banwarie, 21, of Triumph, in the company of others broke and entered the home of David Fredericks and stole a Dell laptop, an Acer Laptop, a gold band, a Coby DVD player, and $110,000 in cash, which amounted to $565,000.
Banwarie was not required to plead when his charges were read at the Sparendaam Magistrate’s Court.
Prosecutor John Singh said on November 18, 2014, Banwarie and others entered the compound and raided Fredericks’ home.
An alarm was raised and NAREI staff and Fredericks hunted the bandits down. The police were also called in. When the police arrived, they were shot at. The police nevertheless gave chase and managed to capture Banwarie, who was later identified by a witness.
The prosecutor objected to bail and Banwarie was remanded to prison by Magistrate Zamilla Ally until May 19.
