Robbers yesterday struck at the People’s Pawn Shop in New Amsterdam, where they tied up staff and stole approximately $8M in cash and jewellery before riding off on bicycles.
The attack, which was carried out by two men, occurred around 1:45PM and saw two staffers of the shop being tied up and having their mouths taped.
Valencia Saunders, one of the staffers who was also robbed in the attack, told Stabroek News that earlier in the day, one of the men entered the shop and enquired about the price that gold was being sold at then left shortly after on his bicycle.
Saunders, still shaken after the ordeal, said when the bandit entered the store she thought it was a normal customer.
However, as the man made his way to the counter she saw him raise his shirt and pull a gun. During this time, the bandit took her to the back of store, taped her mouth and tied her hands and feet. Afterward, he was assisted by another bandit, who was masked, and the two men got her niece, Marsha D’Andrade, who was the other person in the shop, to hand over millions in valuables.
Saunders explained that the men escaped with $5.3M in diamond and gold jewellery along with $2.2M cash belonging to the shop.
She stated that she was also robbed of eight gold bangles, worth $200,000, along with a BlackBerry cell phone, valued at $80,000, while her niece was robbed of a Samsung cellular phone, worth $200,000, a gold chain worth $200,000, and a pair of gold and diamond earrings worth $250,000.
The woman said the bandits walked out of the shop like normal customers after the five-minute-long robbery.
She and her niece waited another five minutes before freeing themselves. Saunders stated that although her hands were tied, she successfully removed the tape from her mouth and then bit off the tape that held her hands together. She then freed her niece.
