A gang of five bandits rampaged through Budhan Housing Scheme, New Amsterdam, on Sunday, during the wee hours of the morning and two of the alleged perpetrators have been since arrested.
Oliver Ross of Lot 39 Budhan Housing Scheme said three men broke into his home around 4.30 am on Sunday, while two stood guard downstairs. He recalled that two of the men were armed with guns, while the third had a cutlass.
According to Ross, the men ordered him to bring “money and jewellery, everything you got.” He said he pleaded with them, that he was just a middle-class man, now building life, to no avail.
Eventually, he told them to “take things light, whatever you want, whatever you see, take.”
During the course of the robbery, a shot was fired, but no one was injured.
Ross said the men ransacked his house. According to the police, the perpetrators escaped with $78,000, a laptop, a cell phone, a television set and a tablet.
According to information gathered, the gang attempted to rob three other houses in the scheme, but were unsuccessful.
Sixty-seven-year-old Ingrid Sookhan of Lot 31 Budhan Scheme stated that a boy who lives with her came home around 4.10 am on Sunday and told her that her gate was open.
“He say, ‘Granny, I come and meet the gate wide open.’ When I come downstairs, I meet the lock bend up and the bolt throw by the fence at the side,” Sookhan said. She recalled that last week, she had awakened to sounds of someone trying to break into her house and raised an alarm. The perpetrator the jumped over the fence at the side and escaped.
Another villager said she woke up to find her back window broken. However, nothing was stolen. She said, “Me sister own here, both a we scared to sleep here now.”
Commander of ‘B’ Division Ian Amsterdam stated that after intense investigation, it is believed that the acts were perpetrated by a gang of bandits operating out of Angoy’s Avenue. Amsterdam said he believes the same gang was responsible for robbing and beating Angoy’s Avenue pensioner Veronica Balak on Sunday morning.
Although two accused have already been nabbed, Amsterdam said ranks are working around the clock to capture the others.
Residents also complained about the deplorable state of their road.
According to Ross, when the police arrived they had to park their vehicle and walk to his house, which gave the bandits time to escape. He is calling on the relevant authorities to assist with fixing the street in the scheme.
